Articles
STUDIES ON STREPTOMYCIN RESISTANT BACTERIAL ISOLATES FROM POME-FRUIT ORCHARDS
Article number
411_43
Pages
211 – 218
Language
Abstract
Fire blight caused by Erwinia amylovora was detected for the first time in Greece in 1984. In 1987 it caused a devastating epidemic in most of pome-fruit growing areas.
From the very beginning streptomycin was widely used to control the disease in any stage of its development.
Although streptomycin has been banned for agricultural use in all E.U. countries, its use is allowed, exceptionally in Greece for fire blight control during blooming, since this antibiotic alone or in mixture with oxytetracycline is the most effective agent against E. amylovora. However the intensive use of streptomycin poses the problem of becoming ineffective through the development of streptomycin resistant strains of the pathogen.
The experience in countries with long history of the disease is that such strains eventually develop resistance.
In the U.S.A. strains of E. amylovora resistant to streptomycin were discovered in the early 1970s (Goyier and Covey, 1975; Schroth et al., 1979) after nearly two decades of intense use of the antibiotic.
Development of streptomycin-resistant bacterial strains has also been detected among other plant pathogens (Burr et al., 1988; Young, 1977; Minsavage et al., 1990) as well as in other gram-negative epiphytic bacteria (Sobiczewski et al., 1991). In most of the cases streptomycin resistance is plasmid conferred (pCPP501, pEa34). However, high resistance (> 2000 ppm) is conferred by a mutation in the gene rspL (Chiou & Jones, 1994).
From the very beginning streptomycin was widely used to control the disease in any stage of its development.
Although streptomycin has been banned for agricultural use in all E.U. countries, its use is allowed, exceptionally in Greece for fire blight control during blooming, since this antibiotic alone or in mixture with oxytetracycline is the most effective agent against E. amylovora. However the intensive use of streptomycin poses the problem of becoming ineffective through the development of streptomycin resistant strains of the pathogen.
The experience in countries with long history of the disease is that such strains eventually develop resistance.
In the U.S.A. strains of E. amylovora resistant to streptomycin were discovered in the early 1970s (Goyier and Covey, 1975; Schroth et al., 1979) after nearly two decades of intense use of the antibiotic.
Development of streptomycin-resistant bacterial strains has also been detected among other plant pathogens (Burr et al., 1988; Young, 1977; Minsavage et al., 1990) as well as in other gram-negative epiphytic bacteria (Sobiczewski et al., 1991). In most of the cases streptomycin resistance is plasmid conferred (pCPP501, pEa34). However, high resistance (> 2000 ppm) is conferred by a mutation in the gene rspL (Chiou & Jones, 1994).
The purpose of this study was to investigate if streptomycin resistant strains of E. amylovora as well as of other epiphytic bacteria have been developed in pome-fruit orchards after the intense use of this antibiotic against E. amylovora.
Publication
Authors
P.G. Psallidas, E.J. Paplomatas, J. Tsiantos, A. Panagiotopoulou
Keywords
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