Scientists Track Down Threat to Grapevines and Gardens

Tracking down the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is not an easy task. The bacterium, which causes Pierce’s disease in grapes, often escapes being detected through ELISA, for "enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay." Now scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have developed a more powerful method for quickly confirming whether an insect or plant harbors the destructive, disease-causing bacterium. The test relies on two parts: a commercially available DNA-extraction kit and a DNA-amplification protocol that uses primers—short pieces of DNA specific to the bacterium's genetic code—to serve as proof of its presence. The new method should help fill in such gaps in knowledge about transmission of different isolates of the Xylella bacterium.

Read the news article at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2007/070619.htm.