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An Improved Method for Detecting the Presence of Xanthomonas oryzae in Rice Seed. S. P. Y. Hsieh, Graduate student, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822; I. W. Buddenhagen(2), and H. E. Kauffman(3). (2)Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu 96822; (3)Plant Pathologist, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. Phytopathology 64:273-274. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-64-273.

A streptomycin-resistant mutant of Xanthomonas oryzae was developed for studying pathogen ecology. An efficient method was developed to assay many rice seeds for this mutant by touching seed abscission surfaces to a streptomycin agar medium. This is the first unequivocal method of assaying large numbers of rice seed for X. oryzae, but it is limited to a streptomycin-resistant strain. Although the pathogen was detected from approximately 15% of seed obtained from inoculated panicles, this neither proves nor disproves that effective seed transmission occurs naturally.