జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ ప్లాంట్ పాథాలజీ & మైక్రోబయాలజీ

నైరూప్య

Identification and Characterization of Bacterial Agents Causing Moderate Damage and Souring of the Fig Fruits

Seyedeh Asiyeh Mousavi*, Nader Hasanzadeh, Parisa Abdollahi

In order to determine the factors of decay and sourness of Fig fruits, in the summer of 2016-17, 60 leaf, fruit and stem samples from different regions of Tehran, Varamin (Qal'e No), Mazandaran (Amol, Noor and Sari), Lorestan and a branch of Fig fruit sample from Italy were collected. The samples were surface disinfected with 70% alcohol, washed and macerated in DH₂O and one loopful of each suspension was cultured on NA and KB media. The dominant colonies from each culture were further selected and purified. The pathogenicity tests were fulfilled by Hypersensitivity reaction on geranium leaves and artificially by Fig fruit inoculation. Thirty isolates were considered as pathogenic bacteria and key phenotypic traits were performed. This was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene PCR assay using a pair of universal P1/P6 primer. The amplified PCR products were sequenced by Macrogene Inc. and were Blast in NCBI database (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov). The bacteria, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fulva, Brevibacterium linens, Pseudomonas fragi, Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus paralicheniformis and Bacillus cereus were identified. None of the isolates caused fruit rot but typical disease symptoms were observed on Fig leaves and fruits. This is the first report of the presence of pathogenic bacteria on Fig trees in Iran.