Screening for new sources of resistance to Clavibacter michiganensis subsp michiganensis (Cmm) in tomato

Bacterial canker of tomato, caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis (Cmm), is considered the most serious bacterial threat, resulting in high damages in production areas. Worldwide, Cmm is subjected to quarantine regulations.There is no cultivar in market containing Cmm resistance genes. This project aimed to screen tomatoes or wild relatives of tomato for resistance to Cmm, to be used for starting breeding programs. We have screened 24 different wild accessions of tomato and found several new tolerant sources: Solanum pimpinellifolium GI.1554, S. parviflorum LA735 and S. parviflorum LA2072. We also confirmed the tolerance which was reported previously in S. peruvianum LA2157, S. peruvianum PI127829, S. peruvianum LA385, S. habrochaites LA407 and S. lycopersicum cv. IRAT L3. No immunity was found. Also accessions showing a low disease score still contained high titers of bacteria as determined by a dilution plating method, using tow selective media. These results were confirmed with a TaqMan real time PCR assay, which was developed to determine and quantify Cmm in planta.