A Rapid Method for Presumptive Identification of Xanthomonas campestris pv. dieffenbachiae and Other Xanthomonads

Abstract

Two selective media were developed for the isolation and preliminary identification of Xanthomonas campestris pv. dieffenbachiae. The prinicpal carbon sources were cellobiose and starch in one medium and esculin and trehalose in the other. The media were identical with respect to antibiotics and growth factors. In tests with 151 identified strains of bacteria and 46 bacterial epiphytes isolated from aroids, both media permitted the growth of X. c. pv. dieffenbachiae and other pathovars of X. campestris but inhibited growth of most other bacteria. The identity of the xanthomonads was rapidly confirmed by use of Xanthomonas-specific monoclonal antibodies in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.