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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stuttgart, Arkansas » Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413782
Research Project: Broadening and Strengthening the Genetic Base of Rice for Adaptation to a Changing Climate, Crop Production Systems, and Markets

Location: Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center

Title: Understanding the impact of seed-borne pantoea ananatis on rice crop

Author
item PEDROZO, RODRIGO - Orise Fellow
item HUANG, YIXIAO - Orise Fellow
item NICOLLI, CAMILA - University Of Arkansas
item Jia, Yulin

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2024
Publication Date: 7/27/2024
Citation: Pedrozo, R., Huang, Y., Nicolli, C., Jia, Y. 2024. Understanding the impact of seed-borne pantoea ananatis on rice crop. Abstract. Plant Health 2024, July 27-30, 2024. Memphis, Tennessee.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The seed-borne nature of Pantoea ananatis poses a significant challenge to global rice production, with implications ranging from direct transmission to developing seedlings to the potential spread of aggressive strains through international seed trade. This research aimed to elucidate the role of contaminated rice seeds as a primary inoculum source for P. ananatis, focusing on the incidence levels of naturally contaminated rice seeds and its impact on seedling vigor, emergence rates, and the development of leaf blight and damping-off diseases. Laboratory and greenhouse experiments were conducted. Isolation and incidence of seed-borne P. ananatis were computed using Pantoea-Genus Species Agar (PGSA). The varieties JiBoYa, Pratao, and Branco de Brejo were used in this study. Seeds were surface sterilized for 1 minute in ethanol 70% (v/v) and then for an additional 1 minute in hypochlorite 10% (v/v), subsequently double washed with sterile water. Twenty seeds from each variety were used, and after seven days post incubation at 28oC, suspicious bacterial colonies surrounding the seeds were further evaluated. Colony PCR was used to confirm the bacterial ID using specific P. anantis primer sets. The variety JiBoYa presented the highest incidence of P. anantis (30%), followed by Pratao and Branco de Brejo, with 10% and 5% incidence respectively. Subsequent greenhouse trials aimed to determine the seed-to-seedling transmission rates and assess the emergence and vigor of seedlings alongside the development of symptomatic disease. Despite high emergence rates across all varieties (JiBoYa and Pratao, 100%; and Branco de Brejo, 93%), preliminary observations indicated minimal leaf blight symptoms but highlighted a single instance of damping-off in the Pratao variety, suggesting variable pathogen impact. These findings underscore the complex interactions between seed-borne P. ananatis and rice plant development, emphasizing further investigation to fully understand the implications for crop yields, grain quality, and disease management.