The virulence of six Xanthomonas campestris isolates was evaluated using the percentage of lesion area of leaves in Brassica oleraceae host plant, compared to diameter of colonies, xanthan production and gum viscosity. In terms of virulence, the isolates belonged to two statistically different groups: isolates B, UPF and C7 showed values between 52 and 69%, while isolates CF, C and strain B-1459 gave 0-30% of lesion area. Final xanthan concentration, gum viscosity and colony diameter did not correlate with virulence calculated by percentage of lesion area, showing that this parameter is not a good criterium for selection of potential xanthan producer isolates. Serial transfers of X. campestris isolates in host plant did not show a significant effect on "in vitro" production of xanthan or on viscosity levels, suggesting that the increasing interaction between plant and bacteria did not stimulate the increase in xanthan production and viscosity.
Xanthomonas campestris; serial transfers; virulence; xanthan
