Development of Specific Primers for the Molecular Detection of Bacterial Spot of Pepper and Tomato

Bacterial spot of tomato and pepper is an important seed-borne disease caused by a diverse group of bacteria currently classified as four species of X. euvesicatoria (Xe), Xanthomonas vesicatoria (Xv), X. perforans (Xp) and Xanthomonas gardneri (Xg). The objective of this research was to develop PCR primer sets that allow the specific detection and/or identification of Xe, Xv, Xp and Xg strains, in particular in seed assays. AFLP® was used to identify markers specific for each of the four species. Marker fragments were sequenced and potential primer sets were evaluated in PCR for their specificity. For all species specific primers were obtained.