Isolation And Identification Of Ralstonia Solanacearum Causing Bacterial Wilt Of TerungAsam (Solanum LasiocarpumDunal) In Sarawak | UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA KAMPUS BINTULU SARAWAK
» Isolation and Identification of Ralstonia solanacearum causing bacterial wilt of TerungAsam (Solanum lasiocarpumDunal) in Sarawak

Isolation and Identification of Ralstonia solanacearum causing bacterial wilt of TerungAsam (Solanum lasiocarpumDunal) in Sarawak

D) Isolation and Identification of Ralstonia solanacearum causing bacterial wilt of TerungAsam (Solanum lasiocarpumDunal) in Sarawak


Introduction:

This research focuses on the isolation of bacteria that causes wilt disease in terungasam and identified the organism using molecular and biochemical characterization. Once the bacteria is identified, it will be tested for its pathogenicity on few different crops such as tomato, potato and terungasam itself. TerungAsam, an indigenous fruit vegetable grown in Sarawak is confined in the Solanaceae family. Due to its incoming demand, it has become an economically important fruit not only to local people, but also to tourist who come to Sarawak. However, the major drawback of planting this crop is the susceptibility to bacterial wilt (BW) disease which has affected its growth and harvest, causing significant yield loss to farmers. Recently, significant progress has been made to understand the deadly effect of bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum in many important cropsincluding tomato, potato and pepper. In Malaysia, bacterial wilt disease was first reported in banana plantation in Johor back in 2007, spreading rapidly to other states in the country resulting in serious economic loss to farmers. Due to its broad host range, it is therefore important to identify the causal agent of bacterial wilt disease which has infected not only terungasam, but also other important crops in the country. The understanding of this infection in terungasam has yet to be reported, thereby hindering genetic enhancement towards the disease. The overall objective of this study is to isolate and characterize plant pathogenic bacteria, R.solanacearum recovered from terungasam and their ability to cause virulence on other crops. PCR using 16S rRNA and partial endoglucanase (egl) gene primers will be used to confirm and characterize the bacterium at the molecular level. This is a proof-of-concept project and elucidating the molecular mechanism of bacterial wilt disease is crucial for better improvement in developing disease-resistant Sarawak indigenous fruit vegetable in near future. The provisions of this grant will also enable the training of at least one postgraduate student and the publication of at least one paper in a high impact scientific journal.

 



For more further enquiries:

Dr. Fauziah Binti Abu Bakar
Senior Lecturer
Department of Crop Science
Faculty of Agricultural Science and Forestry
Tel: +6086 855839
Email: ab_fauziah@upm.edu.my

Kemaskini:: 07/09/2020 [lanz]

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