Identification of bacterial leaf streak of cereals by their phenotypic characteristics and host range in Iran

Forty-four bacterial isolates were obtained from infected wheat, barley and various grasses from different regions of Iran. All isolates were bacteriologically similar toXanthomonas campestris and some of their physiological and biochemical features can be useful for a primary differentiation between them. Depending on their pathogenicity, the isolates were split into two groups; the wheat group isolated from wheat, barley and grasses could infect artificially wheat, barley, rye,Agropyron elongatum, Bromus inermis, andLolium multiflorum but not oat, whereas the barley group obtained from cultivated or wild barley was pathogenic to barley only. From their bacteriological characteristics and host range, the barley and the wheat group isolated were identified asX. campestris pvs.hordei andcerealis, respectively.Aegilops sp.,Sclerochloa dura, andHeteranthelium sp. were, for the first time, shown to be hosts ofX. c. pv.cerealis.