Burr Description: This award is for the support of a collaborative research project between Professor Thomas Burr and Dr. Esengul Momol, Research Associate, in the Department of Plant Pathology at Cornell University, and Dr. Salih Maden, Professor of Plant Pathology at Ankara University in Turkey. These scientists plan to collect isolates of Agrobacterium vitis from different regions of Turkey. They plan to identify these isolates using standard physiological and biochemical methods, and specific DNA primer sets with the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The isolates will be tested for the presence of Ti plasmids using a T-DNA specific probe. The genetic diversity of the strain collection will be analyzed by fingerprinting the chromosomal region between the 16S and the 23S genes (intergenic spacer). Non-tumorigenic strains that are collected from wild and cultivated grapes in Turkey will be tested as potential biocontrols of grape crown gall in the United States and Turkey. A PCR-based indexing method will be developed to screen commercially grown grapevines for the presence of A. vitis. Scope: This project will support collaboration between two teams of scientists with complementary qualifications and institutional facilities. The Turkish team is quite familiar with and have access to the varieties of cultivated and wild grapes that may be host to the A. vitis in Turkey. The US team is experienced and well equipped to conduct the identification, isolation, and PCR detection and IGS fingerprinting of the virus strains. The two sides will jointly identify non-tumorigenic strains that will be tested for their ability to inhibit gall formation by tumorigenic strains. The problem to be solved has significant economic importance to the US, to Turkey, and to many other countries in the Middle East. The project fits well within the objectives of the Division of International Programs.
