Colonies of Clavibacter (bacterial canker) on SCM media

California Seed & Plant Lab offers a new test for detection of Clavibacter in acid treated seeds

Cal-SPL has developed an efficient assay for detecting bacterial canker (Clavibacter michiganensis pv michiganensis) in acid treated seeds.

It is a common practice in the seed industry to treat tomato seeds with acid to remove pulp and to eradicate pathogens on the seed. However, acid treatment is not effective in eradicating bacterial pathogens such as Clavibacter that may be present inside the seeds.

Even though acid is rinsed off, some residue of the acid persists on the treated seeds. This acid residue interferes in seed health testing resulting in false negatives for bacterial canker.

Cal-SPL method relies on extraction of bacterial canker bacteria from the seeds with a proprietary buffer that can neutralize large amount of acid residue on the seeds and maintains viability of bacteria canker under neutral pH conditions.  Bacterial extract is then plated on two selective media and bacterial growth tested with two pairs of real-time PCR primers (BIO-PCR).  Using this improved technique, we have successfully detected bacterial canker in many seed lots.

Cal-SPL’s bacterial canker test features (click HERE for more information):

• NSHS accredited
• Initial results in 4 days (Bio-PCR), Final results in 7-10 days (Liquid plating)
• Real-time PCR using two sets of primers and probe
• Two selective and on non-selective media used
• A sensitivity level of as low as (10 cells/ml of seed wash)
• Online tracking of your samples