Ecology of Xanthomonas perforans, causal agent of bacterial spot of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).

• Grant number: 23/05834-9
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2023
• End date: September 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Tadeu Antônio Fernandes da Silva Júnior
• Grantee: Tadeu Antônio Fernandes da Silva Júnior
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Janete Apparecida Desidério ; Maria Márcia Pereira Sartori

Abstract

Studies on the ecology of phytopathogenic bacteria are fundamental for the efficient management of diseases. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the mostcultivated vegetables in the world and diseases such as bacterial leaf spot have high importance for the crop. This disease is incited by four species of bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas, with prevalence of X. perforans (Xap) in Brazil. This research proposal will be the first developed under Brazilian conditions to evaluate the survival of Xap in soil, in the phyllosphere and rhizosphere of cultivated plants and weeds, and to identify new hosts of the causal agent of bacterial spot in crop fields with a history of disease occurrence. To achieve these goals, bacterial strains resistant to rifampicin will be used, and the quantification of bacterial populations will be performed in semi-selective culture media. All experiments will be conducted and repeated during the years 2023 to 2025 to determine the influence of climatic conditions on the survival of the bacterium. With the results obtained, it is expected to identify the main hosts of Xap in Brazil, essential information for the adoption of more efficient management practices for the control of tomato bacterial spot. (AU)