A novel method for in vitro quantification of biofilm and planktonic populations of the plant pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa

• Author(s): Ceri, H.; Manfio, G.; Marques, Lyriam; Olson, Merle;
• Abstract: Xylella fastidiosa are able to colonize the xylem of a range of host plants and can cause economically important diseases, such as Pierces disease (PD) in grapevines and citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) in sweet oranges. In a previous study, we described a simple and relatively rapid method for the study of X. fastidiosa biofilms in vitro, using pine wood sticks. In the present study, an enhancement of that method is presented, using balsa wood (Ochroma sp., angiosperm). Remarkable increase in colonization efficiency of the balsa wood surfaces was observed on SEM analyses, particularly for elm and grape strains. Balsa wood immersed in the culture media also enhanced the growth of planktonic populations of the X. fastidiosa strains tested, as did soluble extracts derived from balsa. In addition, the soft nature of balsa wood enabled the development of a method for viable counting and direct comparison of biofilm and planktonic populations of X. fastidiosa grown under the same conditions.
• Publication Date: Jun 2002
• Journal: Phytopathology