Pierce's Disease
Research Updates

piercesdisease.cdfa.ca.gov

What is Pierce's Disease?

Pierce's Disease is a bacterial infection, which is spread by bugs that feed on grapevines, particularly the "glassy winged sharpshooter." Grapevines that become infected with PD can quickly become sick and die.

glassy-winged sharpshooter

Agrobacterium vitis strain F2/5 contains tartrate and octopine utilization plasmids which do not encode functions for tumour inhibition on grapevine


  • Author(s): Burr, Thomas; Sule, S.; Szegedi, E.;
  • Abstract: The nonvirulent, antagonistic Agrobacterium vitis strain F2/5 was tested for the presence of tartrate utilization plasmid(s) which commonly occur in virulent A. vitis isolates. Following transformation of F2/5 plasmid DNA into Agrobacterium tumefaciens UBAPF2, an approximately 220 kbp plasmid coding for tartrate utilization was isolated. This plasmid, designated pTrF2/5, was also transferred by in planta mating between F2/5 and UBAPF2 and was maintained in a stable state in A. tumefaciens under nonselective conditions. pTrF2/5 could not be allocated into the known incompatibility groups described so far in Agrobacterium. Two transconjugant colonies also acquired an octopine utilization plasmid named pOcF2/5 which is related to the incRh1 Ti plasmids. Neither pTr nor pOc encodes for the tumour-inhibiting ability of F2/5.
  • Publication Date: Dec 1999
  • Journal: Journal Of Phytopathology (Berlin)