Identification and genetic diversity of bacterial wilt pathogen in brinjal

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causal agent of bacterial wilt disease of solanaceous crops, which is a severe obstacle to the production of brinjal along with other crops. R. solanacearum strains are isolated from different fields of Karnataka, India, and are characterised to determine the distribution and diversity of soil-borne pathogen. The isolated strains of R. solanacearum showed maximum identity as biovar 2. The genetic diversity was analysed among the isolated strains compared with worldwide sequence deposited with NCBI, by 16S rDNA sequence through phylogenetic orientation. This comparison confirms that isolates were originated from Asia and are different from American and European strains. Among our isolates 65% of variation was recorded with that of R. solanacearum in Asian strains. Sequence analysis also confirms the isolated strains as R. solanacearum with 99% homology with BLAST programme. Hence, the present study reports on the rapid identification of R. solanacearum which overcomes conventional diagnostics and helps in early and rapid disease diagnosis. Here, we determined genetic diversity and relationship of R. solanacearum complex of India with other countries using 16S rDNA sequences.