An Innovative Approach to Study Ralstonia solanacearum Pathogenicity

Ralstonia solanacearum is a Gram-negative plant pathogenic bacterium that causes lethal wilt disease in exceptionally wide range of plant species. Due to its expanding host range, this wilt pathogen is emerging as a big threat for crops and ornamental plants. Bacterial wilt caused by R. solanacearum is also termed as Granville wilt in tobacco, brown rot in potato and Moko disease in banana. Because of its mysterious infection behavior, R. solanacearum pathogenicity and disease progression study has been still a big challenge among plant pathologist. In this background, this book has given a detail description of an easy and innovative root inoculation approach to study R. solanacearum pathogenicity and disease progression in early seedling stage of tomato plant. The approach described here is a rapid, consistent as well as very much economical in terms of time, space and labor. Hence, the assay explained here is an useful and less resource dependent way to investigate and understand pathogen virulence functions as well as its interaction with the host plant during disease progression and wilting at the early seedling stage.