The application of flow cytometry and fluorescent probe technology for detection and assessment of viability of plant pathogenic bacteria

Conventional methods to detect and assess the viability of plant pathogenic bacteria are usually based on plating assays or serological techniques. Plating assays provide information about the number of viable cells, expressed as colony-forming units, but are time-consuming and laborious. Serological methods, such as the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunofluorescence microscopy (IF), can be performed in a shorter timespan than most plating assays, but they do not discriminate between live and dead cells. Flow cytometry (FCM) in combination with fluorescent probe technology is a rapid, sensitive, and quantitative technique to detect microorganisms and assess their viability. Quantitative information on the presence and viability of plant pathogenic microorganisms is valuable for risk assessment regarding disease transmission and disease development. FCM has been applied successfully in the fields of food microbiology, veterinary science, and medical research to detect and distinguish between viable and non-viable bacteria. The aim of this review is to show the potential of FCM and fluorescent probe technology for the field of plant pathology