Genotyping of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora Strains from Asia Based on recA Gene Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms 

Genetic diversity of a collection of 92 strains of Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora （Ecc） isolated from various host plants in Asia countries （Japan, Korea and Thailand) was assessed by means of PCR-RFLP of recombinase A gene （recA）. Ten RFLP groups were obtained on the basis of restriction analysis of recA gene fragments with four restriction endonucleases （Hind Ⅲ, Alu Ⅰ, Dde Ⅰ and Tas Ⅰ）. Most of Asian strains （71 out of 92 strains） belonged to RFLP groups 1, 2 and 3. When the RFLP groups were compared with the phenotypic groups and hosts of origin, there were found some relationships. RFLP groups 2 and 3 coincided with phenotypic groups A and B, respectively. RFLP group 4 contained only isolates from mulberry trees, indicating that the mulberry strains are in a distinct group in Ecc. The results of this study will facilitate further understanding of the population structure of Ecc in Asia