Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T07:55:27.020Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Genetic analysis of Clavibacter toxicus, the agent of annual ryegrass toxicity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

M. S. Johnston ,
S. S. Sutherland ,
C. C. Constantine  and
D. J. Hampsons
M. S. Johnston
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
S. S. Sutherland
Affiliation:
Agriculture Western Australia, Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151, Australia
C. C. Constantine
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
D. J. Hampsons*
Affiliation:
School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
*
* D. J. Hampson, School of Veterinary Studies, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Multilocus enzyme electrophoresis was used to examine the relatedness of 52 isolates of Clavibacter toxicus, the agent of annual ryegrass toxicity. These included 37 Western Australian (WA) field isolates sampled in 3 distinct locations over a 2-year period, and 15 isolates sampled from 6 different host plant species in 3 states in Australia over approximately 8 years. Seventeen reference strains for the related genera Curtobacterium, Rhodococcus and Arthrobacter were examined for comparison. The 69 isolates were divided into 29 electrophoretic types (ETs), separated by genetic distances of 0·06 to 0·81. The C. toxicus isolates fell into 12 ETs, 11 of which formed a tightly clustered group separated by a genetic distance of 0·23 or less. Thirty-one of the WA field isolates of C. toxicus fell into a single ET, and four into another ET. Clavibacter toxicus therefore formed a closely related group which was genetically distinct from the other plant pathogenic species, and a dominant widely disseminated strain of the species was identified in WA.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 117 , Issue 2 , October 1996 , pp. 393 - 400
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

References

1.McKay, AC, Ophel, KM. Toxigenic Clavibacter/Anguina associations infecting grass seedheads. Ann Rev Phyto 1993; 31: 151–67.Google Scholar
2.Gwinn, R, Hadlow, AJ. Toxicity syndrome in sheep grazing Wimmera Ryegrass in Western Australia. Aust Vet J 1971; 47: 408.Google Scholar
3.Price, PC, Fisher, JM, Kerr, A. Annual ryegrass toxicity; parasitism of Lolium rigidum by a seed-gall forming nematode (Anguina sp.). Ann App Biol 1979a; 91: 359–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Price, PC, Fisher, JM, Kerr, A. On Anguina funesta sp. and its association with Corynebacterium sp. in infecting Lolium rigidum. Nematologica 1979b; 25: 76–85.Google Scholar
5.McKay, AC, Ophel, KM, Rearden, TB, Gooden, JM. Livestock deaths associated with Clavibacter toxicus/ Anguina sp. infection in seedheads of Agrostis avenacea and Polypogon monspeliensis. Plant Dis 1993; 77: 635–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6.Davis, EO, Curran, GE, Hetherington, WT et al. Clinical, pathological and epidemiological aspects of flood plain staggers, a coynetoxicosis of livestock grazing Agrostis avenacea. Aust Vet J 1995; 72: 187–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Schneider, DJ. First report of annual ryegrass toxicity in the Republic of South Africa. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 1981; 48: 251–5.Google Scholar
8.McIntosh, GH, Rac, R, Thomas, MR. Toxicity of Wimmera Ryegrass, Lolium rigidum, for sheep and cattle. Aust Vet J 1967; 43: 349–53.Google Scholar
9.Pink, BN. Ryegrass toxicity in Western Australia. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Catalogue No. 7421.5. 1989; Canberra, Australia.Google Scholar
10.Roberts, WD, Baxter, A. The surveillance of annual ryegrass toxicity in Western Australia. Western Australian Department of Agriculture miscellaneous publication No. 32/91. 1991. Western Australian Department of Agriculture, Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151.Google Scholar
11.Chatel, DL. Research on the nematode–bacterial association of annual ryegrass responsible for annual ryegrass toxicity, 1978 to 1982. Western Australian Department of Agriculture Technical report 54, 1992; Western Australian Department of Agriculture, Baron- Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151.Google Scholar
12.Chatel, DL, Wise, JL, Marfleet, AG. Ryegrass toxicity organism found on other grasses. J Agric 1979; 20: 89.Google Scholar
13.Riley, IT, Ophel, KM. Clavibacter toxicus sp. nov., the bacterium responsible for annual ryegrass toxicity in Australia. Int J System Bacteriol 1992; 42: 64–8.Google Scholar
14.Riley, IT. Serological relationships between strains of Coryneform bacteria responsible for annual ryegrass toxicity and other plant-pathogenic Corynebacteria. Int J System Bacteriol 1987; 35: 153–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Riley, IT, Rearden, TB, McKay, AC. Genetic analysis of plant pathogenic bacteria in the genus Clavibacter using allozyme electrophoresis. J Gen Microbiol 1988; 134: 3025–30.Google Scholar
16.Riley, IT, Gooden, JM. Bacteriophage specific for the Clavibacter sp. associated with annual ryegrass toxicity. Lett App Microbiol 1991; 12: 158–60.Google Scholar
17.Riley, IT, McKay, AC. Specificity of the adhesion of some plant pathogenic micro-organisms to the cuticle of nematodes in the genus Anguina (Nematoda: Anguinidae). Nematologica 1990; 36: 90–103.Google Scholar
18.Richardson, BJ, Baverstock, PR, Adams, M. Allozyme electrophoresis: a handbook for animal systematics and population studies. San Diego: Academic Press Inc., 1986.Google Scholar
19.Selander, RK, Caugant, DA, Ochman, H, Musser, JM, Gilmour, MN, Whittam, TS. Methods of multilocus enzyme electrophoresis for bacterial population genetics and systematics. App Env Microbiol 1986; 51: 873–84.Google Scholar
20.Riley, IT, McKay, AC. Inoculation of Lolium rigidum with Clavibacter sp., the toxigenic bacteria associated with annual ryegrass toxicity. J App Bacteriol 1991a; 71: 302–6.Google Scholar
21.Riley, IT, McKay, AC. Susceptibility of Anguina founts (Nematoda: Anguinidae) populations to adhesion by the toxigenic Clavibacter sp. responsible for annual ryegrass toxicity. Nematologica 1991 b; 37: 439–46.Google Scholar
22.Nei, M. Estimation of average heterozygosity and genetic distance from a small number of individuals. Genetics 1978; 89: 583–90.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Burr, EJ. Cluster sorting with mixed character types I. Standardisation of character values. Aust Comp J 1968; 1: 97–9.Google Scholar
24.Burr, EJ. Cluster sorting with mixed character types II. Fusion strategies. Aust Comp J 1970; 2: 98–103.Google Scholar
25.Felsenstein, J. PHYLIP – Phylogeny Inference Package (Version 3.2). Cladistics 1989; 5: 164–6.Google Scholar
26.Murray, TD. Isolation of Corynebacterium agropyri from 30- to 40-year-old herbarium specimens of Agropyron species. Plant Dis 1986; 70: 378–80.Google Scholar
27.Davis, MJ, Gillespie, AG, Vivader, AK, Harris, RW. Clavibacter: a new genus containing some phytopathogenie Coryneform bacteria, including Clavibacter xyli subsp. xyli sp. nov., subsp. nov. and Clavibacter xyli subsp. cynodontis subsp. nov., pathogens that cause Ratoon Stunting Disease of Sugarcane and Bermuda grass Stunting disease. Int J System Bacteriol 1984; 34: 107–17.Google Scholar
28.Collins, MD, Jones, DJ. Reclassification of Corynebacterium flaccumfaciens, Corynebacterium betae, Corynebacterium oortii and Corynebacterium poinsettiae in the genus Curtobacterium, as Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens comb. nov. J Gen Microbiol 1983; 129: 3545–8.Google Scholar
29.Eisenstein, BI. New molecular techniques for microbial epidemiology and the diagnosis of infectious disease. J Infect Dis 1990; 161: 595–602.Google Scholar
30.Bird, AF, Stynes, BA. The morphology of a Corynebacterium spp. parasitic on annual ryegrass. Phytopathol 1977; 67: 828–30.Google Scholar
31.Stynes, BA, Petterson, DS, Lloyd, J, Payne, AL, Lanigan, GW. The production of toxin in annual ryegrass, Lolium rigidum, infected with a nematode, Anguina sp., and Corynebacterium rathayi. Aust J Ag Res 1979; 30: 201–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Riley, IT, Gill, G, Maling, I. Controlling annual ryegrass toxicity in paddocks containing herbicide resistant ryegrass. Western Australian Department of Agriculture Fannnote 99/91. 1991. Western Australian Department of Agriculture, Baron-Hay Court, South Perth, Western Australia 6151.Google Scholar
33.Ophel, KM, Bird, AF, Kerr, A. Association of bacteriophage particles with toxin production by Clavibacter toxicus, the causal agent of annual ryegrass toxicity. Phytopathol 1993; 83: 676–81.Google Scholar