Diagnosis of Lily Plant Fasciation Caused by Rhodococcus fascians in Jeju Island

To diagnose lily fasciation, lily bulbs showing fasciation were collected from several greenhouses in Jeju Island, South Korea. Bacteria were isolated from the lily bulbs and amplified with both primers for fasA in plasmid and for putative glycosyltransferase epsH gene in chromosome of Rhodococcus fascians. Three bacterial isolates were detected with the P450 primer set and identified as R. fascians by NCBI blast analysis. Twelve bacterial isolates were identified as R. fascians using RS02785 primer set, including the three bacterial isolates identified as the same pathogen using the P450 primer set. Pathogenicity of these bacterial strains identified as R. fascians was demonstrated. Apparent symptoms were observed on wounded lily leaves after inoculation with each bacterial suspension whereas no symptom was found on lily leaves treated with H2O. Furthermore, bacteria re-isolated from wounded sites were identified as R. fascians. Based on the results, these two sets of primers are recommended for quarantine of R. fascians.