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EFFECT OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY ON EPIPHYTIC SURVIVAL AND COLONIZATION BY PSEUDOMONAS SYRINGAE
Citation:
Wilson, M. AND S. Lindow. EFFECT OF PHENOTYPIC PLASTICITY ON EPIPHYTIC SURVIVAL AND COLONIZATION BY PSEUDOMONAS SYRINGAE. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-93/258.
Description:
The bacterial epiphyte Pseudomonas syringas MF714R was cultured on agar or in broth or collected form colonized leaves; it was then inoculated onto greenhouse-grown bean plants incubated in a growth chamber at low relative humidity or in the field or onto field-grown bean plants. ells cultured in liquid medium survived the least well after inoculation of leaf surfaces under all conditions. ells cultured in solid medium exhibited the highest percent survival an desiccation tolerance in the growth chamber but generally survived less well in the field than did cells harvested from plants. ells harvested from plants and inoculated onto plants in the field usually exhibited the highest percent survival, started to increase in population earlier, and reached a higher number than did cells cultured in vitro. Differences in field survival were apparently not attributable to differential UV tolerance. he observed effects of phenotypic elasticity on epiphytic survival and colonization should be considered in risk assessment studies, in studies of bacterial epidemiology, and in the use of microbial antagonists for biological pest control.