Survival of Xanthomonas perforans, causal agent of tomato bacterial spot, in the phyllosphere of crops.

• Grant number: 23/15853-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Tadeu Antônio Fernandes da Silva Júnior
• Grantee: Pedro Costa Scrivanti
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most cultivated vegetables in the world and many diseases, caused by fungi, viruses, and mainly bacteria, can reduce its productivity. For more efficient management of phytobacteria, studying the ecology of their causal agents is essential. Tomato bacterial spot is caused by four species of the genus Xanthomonas, with X. perforans (Xap) predominant in Brazilian cultivation areas. This research project's main objective is to determine the survival capacity of Xap in the phyllosphere of cultivated plants, under Brazilian conditions. Two experiments will be developed in 2024 and 2025, with a rifampicin-resistant Xap isolate, and the quantification of bacterial populations will be carried out in a semi-selective culture medium. The survival periods in the two experiments will be confirmed through PCR reactions with Xap-specific primers. With the results obtained, it is expected to identify the cultivated plants that host Xap, essential information for the adoption of more efficient management practices to control tomato bacterial spot.