Monoclonal antibodies against Xylella fastidiosa causing pear leaf scorch in Taiwan
Pear leaf scorch disease, caused by a strain of Xylella fastidiosa (EPPO A1 quarantine pest), was first reported in Taiwan in 1990. In infected pear trees, such as Pyrus pyrifolia cv. Hengshan, leaf scorch symptoms can be observed during summer and autumn, dieback of twigs and branches may also occurs, and if no control measures are taken 10 to 20-year old trees may die. Several monoclonal antibodies have been developed in Taiwan to detect specifically the pear leaf scorch bacterium. The authors felt that these monoclonal antibodies could be very useful to detect X. fastidiosa in various parts of infected trees plants using tissue blots (for example for epidemiological purposes), and also for discriminating between strains of X. fastidiosa. By using these monoclonal antibodies, serological differences could be observed among strains of X. fastidiosa (Pierce's disease, plum, oak strains) and were similar to previous results obtained with RAPD, but it was felt that more efforts are still needed to study the degree of serological relatedness among X. fastidiosa strains.
Sources
Leu, H.H.; Leu, L.S.; Lin, C.P. (1998) Development and application of monoclonal antibodies against Xylella fastidiosa, the causal bacterium of pear leaf scorch.
Journal of Phytopathology, 146(1), 31-37.