DNA polymorphisms and biocontrol of Bacillus antagonistic to citrus bacterial canker with indication of the interference of phyllosphere biofilms.

Citrus bacterial canker caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri is a devastating disease resulting in significant crop losses in various citrus cultivars worldwide. A biocontrol agent has not been recommended for this disease.

Barcode-like heteroduplex DNA pattern as an aid for rapid identification of anthracnose fungi.

We have shown the usefulness of the heteroduplex mobility assay (HMA) for phylogenetic analysis and for the discrimination of closely related Colletotrichum species. Because the heteroduplex mobility of a tested strain shows a unique banding pattern that is the function of the sequence of the referred strain, we further explored the potential use of heteroduplex DNA patterns (HPs) as DNA fingerprints for the identification of these fungi. The 29 Colletotrichum strains previously identified by HMA to be taxonomic members of CG, CA, CM, CC and CL species groups were re-examined with an emphasis on their unique heteroduplex banding patterns.