Current Status of Bacterial Grain Rot of Rice in Korea

세균성 벼알마름병의 연구동향

The grain rot of caused by Bukholderia glumae was fist reported in japan in 1955 and then reported in other countries as well as in Korea in 1986. The pathogen causes both seedling and grain rot of rice but it cannot attack any other parts of adult rice plant. Bacterial colonies grow slowly, and are circular and greyish white. The causal bacterium is Gram-negative and rod shape with 1-3 polar flagella, and produce a diffusible yellow-greenish nonfluorescent pigment on King's medium B. Biochemical characteristics such as negative in arginine dehydrolase, oxidase reaction and nitrate reduction and positive in lecithinase, and the utilization of L-arginine and inositol are useful in differentiation of this from other nonfluorescent bacteria pathogenic to rice. This pathogenic bacterium had belonged to the genus of Pseudomonas but recently was transferred to the new genus Burkholderia on the basis of physiological characteristics and DNA-DNA hybridization data. However, other characteristics such as colony heterogenicity or colonial variation after subcultures, phytotoxin, secreting antibiotics, and relationship between yellow greenish pigment production and pathogenicity need to be clarified more. To develop an effective control strategy for this disease, understanding of detailed life cycle of the disease and critical environmental factors affecting disease development is prerequisite. Although 5,435 ha of rice paddy in Korea was infested during 1998, there is no exact estimation of yield losses and distribution of the pathogen. The review will focus on recent progress on the understanding of the bacteriological and ecological characteristics of the causal bacterium and control means of the disease.