Variation of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora isolated from Korea

Twenty three Korean strains of soft rot pathogen, Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora （Ecc）, isolated from various kinds of plants were investigated for their bacteriological, pathological and genetic properties. On the basis of bacteriological tests, the strains were grouped into 6 biovars. Intermediate strains between E.. carotovora subsp. carotovora and subsp. atroseptica were found （biovar B and L）. The strains were divided into two pathovars based on their pathogenicity to tomato plant, onion, cucumber and potato. All the Korean strains of Ecc caused soft rot on the test plants （pathovar Ⅰ）, except for strain Ecc5/95 which was non pathogenic to onion （pathovar Ⅱ）. ERIC-PCR revealed a greater genotypic diversity with 18 profiles. Two RFLP groups were recognized when RFLP analysis was carried out for a pel gene by digesting the amplified fragment with Sau3A. Although all strains of biovar E were shown to belong to the same RFLP group, ERIC and RFLP profiles were not directly related to biovar and pathovar