اولین گزارش از پوسیدگی و بافت‌مردگی مریستم انتهایی بادمجان ناشی از Klebsiella pneumonia در ایران

Eggplants with stinky rotting, necrosis and oozing symptoms on primary meristems were observed in Isin (Hormozgan province, Iran) in November 2016. In order to investigate and identify the causal agent, the plants were transferred to the laboratory. Infected tissues of diseased plants after cutting into 3 mm in length pieces were surface-sterilized in 0.5% sodium hypochloride for 30 sec, rinsed 3 times in sterilized water. Tissues were then keep into sterilized water for 30 min, and the suspension was streaked onto Nutrient agar (NA) plates, and incubated at 28°C for 48 h. Four morphologically different colonies were purified and selected for further characterization. Hypersensitivity reaction (HR) and pathogenicity tests were performed on pelargonium leaves and young eggplant foliage, respectively. One pathogenic strain with positive HR reaction, caused symptoms on eggplant seedling in the site of injection in pathogenicity test. The inoculated bacteria were re-isolated from the symptoms. The pathogenic strain was identified based on biochemical and molecular tests. So, DNA of the pathogenic strain was extracted and 16S rRNA was partially amplified using PCR and sequenced. In biochemical tests, this strain was Gram negative, oxidase negative, catalyse positive, facultative anaerobic, citrate positive, and gelatin hydrolyze negative. Based on the disease symptoms, phenotypic and pathogenicity tests and sequencing data of 16S rRNA, Klebsiella pneumonia was identified as the causal agent of eggplant rotting. The K. pneumonia has been reported as the causal agent of onion and maize diseases in China. This is the first report of disease on eggplant and the causal bacterium in Iran.