Support for an ARC project to investigate genetic diversity of Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli , causa organism of ratoon stunting disease : SRDC final report BSS239

Abstract

The primary aim of this research was to genetically characterise populations of Leifsonia xyli subsp. xyli (Lxx), causal agent of ratoon stunting disease (RSD) of sugarcane.A collection of 108 isolates of Lxx collected from nine countries was investigated using various molecular techniques. These included randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, restriction analysis of amplified 16SrRNA genes, single stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the 16S-23S intergenic spacer (ITS), and sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA and ITS. No variation was detected using any technique employed, indicating a high degree of relatedness between the isolates. The apparent absence of variation in strains of Lxx holds promise for both RSD-resistance breeding work and genetic engineering of resistance into elite sugarcane cultivars.