Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

Stone fruit and nut production in Europe is limited by increasingly severe losses caused by bacterial dis- eases. Crown gall caused by tumorigenic Agrobacterium spp. is one of the most dangerous diseases for nursery production of these and many other plants. In many countries, tumorigenic agrobacteria are considered as quality pathogens. The infection process differs from that of other plant pathogenic bacteria and has a genetic character. Bacteria causing tumors create a very hetero- geneous group of strains classified to different species and biovars. Additionally, several strains which may rep- resent separate, hitherto unrecognised taxa are de- scribed. The diversity of agrobacteria is observed at the phenotypic as well as at the genetic level. In the later case, high diversity of both chromosomal and plasmid DNA was found. The economic significance of crown gall and the different aspects of diversity of its causal agent are discussed in this review.