Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens (Cff), the causal agent of the bacterial wilt of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), is a vascular pathogen of difficult control. The disease was first detected in Brazil 1995, in São Paulo State. Due to the difficulty in controlling this disease, genetic resistance has been the better option. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reaction of common bean genotypes to the bacterial wilt, in 333 accesses of the bean plant germplasm database of the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas (IAC). Highly resistant and susceptible bean genotypes were selected for the observation of Cff colonization in the xylem vessel by scanning electron microscopy. The results of the screening for genetic resistance in 333 genotypes indicated variability in relation to a Cff Feij 2634 isolate. The materials were classified into 4 resistance level groups: 29 highly resistant genotypes (8.7%), 13 resistant genotypes (3.9%), 18 moderately resistant genotypes (5%) and 273 susceptible genotypes (81%). From these results, about 18% of the - genotypes ranging from highly to moderately resistant - may be useful for the genetic breeding program as a source of resistance genes for Cff. Using scanning electron microscopy, xylem vessels of highly resistant genotypes presented a number of bacterial agglutinations involved by filaments and tangled structures under punctuations of the xylem vessel wall not observed in susceptible genotypes, suggests the activation of structural and biochemical defense mechanisms in resistant plants.
Phaseolus vulgaris; germplasm; bacterial wilt of bean
