Visualizing the infection process of Xanthomonas campestris in cabbage using green fluorescent protein

초록

The plant pathogen, Xanthomonas campestris NRRL B-1459 was chromosomally tagged with gfp, and the transformant which was subjected to Southern hybridization showed the presence of gfp in the chromosome. The virulence-related gene of the transformant was not affected by the insertion of gfp. After inoculation into cabbage plants, the infection process was visually studied in planta. Using a fluorescent microscope, the migration and distribution of gfp-labeled bacteria was visualized in real time. As the gfp-labeled cells were easily visualized from the beginning of infection, we observed a time delay of 2 days between distribution of the Xanthomonas cells in cabbage plant and the appearance of visible necrosis.