dc.description.abstract | Background: Pectolytic Dickeya and Pectobacterium species that cause blackleg, aerial stem rot and
soft rot are commercially important pathogens in potato production. Blackleg symptom caused by
these bacteria has been recorded in potato production field in Bačka region (Vojvodina, Serbia) in
2018.
Objectives: Metagenomic approach was used to reveal microbial communities colonizing the
diseased potato tubers with the aim of better understanding of pathogens distribution.
Methods: Single colonies of potential pathogenic bacteria were isolated on nutrient agar and
checked for pectolytic activity on potato slices. Ten selected bacterial isolates were identified to the
species level after PCR amplification with gapA and mdh primers. The 16S rRNA sequences from
diseased potato tubers samples were obtained using Next generation sequencing (NGS) Illumina
platform. The obtained sequencing data was processed bioinformaticaly.
Results: Mixed infection of the diseased potato plants with Dickeya dianthocola and Pectobacterium
carotovorum pv. brasiliensis was revealed after pathogen identification with gapA and mdh genes. All
isolates caused soft rot symptoms on potato slices. Metagenomic analysis revealed that present
bacteria belong to phylum Bacteroidetes (Bacteroides, Empedobacter, Dysgonomonas, Myroides, and
ud-Porphyromonadaceae), Firmicutes (Vagococcus, Lactococcus, Clostridium XIVa, Enterococcus, and
ud-Acidaminococcaceae) and Proteobacteria (Acinetobacter, ud-Pseudomonadaceae, ud Enterobacteriaceae, Wohlfahrtiimonas, ud-Neisseriaceae, Enterobacter, Providencia, Arcobacter, and
Kerstersia) as the most common representives. Genus Pectobacterium was present in 0.5%. | sr |