Potato soft rot is one of the major destructive diseases affecting potato plants throughout the world. In a survey of different potato growing seasons in different regions of Jordan, samples of rotten potato tubers were collected and 131 isolates identified biochemically as Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc). The PCR primer pair (EXPCCR/EXPCCF) was used to detect these Jordanian isolates. The primer set amplified a single fragment of 550 bp in size from the total genomic DNA, which was extracted independently from 67 Pcc strains. In a nested PCR, the primer set (INPCCR/INPCCF) amplified the expected single fragment of 400 bp from the PCR product of first PCR amplification. The use of these primers was not reliable in detecting all isolates identified biochemically as Pcc. Different rots causal agents were detected by PCR amplification and further sequenced. The sequencing data revealed similarities to different genera; Pseudomonas, Enterobacteriaceae genera such as Enterobacter spp., Serratia spp. and Klebsiella spp., in addition to P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. So far this is the first study where Pcc has been identified by using PCR and sequencing approaches in Jordan.

 

Key words: Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, specific primers, nested PCR, sequencing.