Rapid Discrimination between Groups I and II of Acidovorax citrulli Using a Primer Pair Specific to a pilL Gene

Acidovorax citrulli can be divided into two genetic groups: group I and group II based primarily on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence classification (MLST). To distinguish more rapidly between strains of the two groups, a pair of specific primer for specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that can identify group II strains was designed based on the pilL gene of a group II strain, AAC00-1. PCR results showed that a 332-bp band was generated for 51 of 52 group II strains whereas only three of 93 group I strains were positive, largely consisting with previous studies of A. citrulli classification. Results of PCR showed the primers were able to detect group II strains of A. citrulli and distinguish between strains of groups I and II rapidly and accurately.