Rapid Identification of Xanthomonas campestris pv. graminis and X.c. pv. phlei by Fatty Acid Profiling

Xanthomonas campestris pv. graminis and X. campestris pv. phlei isolated from different grass-species were analysed for their fatty acid content with a gas-chromatograph and a commercially-available software package. The two pathovars could be rapidly and reliably identified and separated from each other with this technique, offering an alternative to time-consuming identification by biochemical and pathogenicity tests.