image: Cover of Laboratory Guide for Identification of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria, Fourth Edition
Credit: © The American Phytopathological Society
A trusted and essential resource for more than four decades, Laboratory Guide for Identification of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria returns in a fully updated fourth edition. This guide remains the most authoritative reference for plant pathologists, diagnosticians, and students who need to accurately identify bacterial plant pathogens using both conventional and cutting-edge methods.
Each chapter is authored by leading experts and provides a holistic, comprehensive overview of the genus or genera, including characteristics useful for identification, isolation techniques, and molecular, serological, biochemical, and other assays for identifying phytobacteria. This updated edition provides simplified identification methods, detailed protocols, color photographs, and a list of semiselective agar media for bacterial isolation. Whether you are an experienced researcher or new to plant pathology, this guide offers the essential tools and knowledge to tackle today’s diagnostic challenges.
This comprehensive volume provides:
- Thorough coverage of more than 30 genera, including 11 not covered in previous editions, such as Dickeya, Lonsdalea, Robbsia, Rhizorhabdus, and Candidatus Liberibacter
- Step-by-step protocols for isolation, culturing, and pathogenicity testing of bacterial strains
- Detailed diagnostic approaches—including molecular, serological, biochemical, and real-time PCR assays—to assist in genus- and species-level identification
- Insightful context on evolving bacterial taxonomy, including the integration of whole genome sequencing and average nucleotide identity in modern species classification
- Two foundational chapters on bacterial taxonomy and initial identification of common genera
Laboratory Guide for Identification of Plant Pathogenic Bacteria, Fourth Edition is dedicated to Norman W. Schaad, the driving force behind the first two editions and lead editor of the third. Schaad was an excellent scientist with a passion for accurate identification of bacterial plant pathogens as well as a friend to many in the field.
This title was published by APS PRESS, the publishing imprint of The American Phytopathological Society, a nonprofit, international organization that advances the science and practice of plant health management in agricultural, urban, and forest settings. The Society was founded in 1908 and has grown from 130 charter members to more than 3,500 scientists and practitioners worldwide.