Electroporation of Xanthomonas

Species within the genus Xanthomonas demonstrate pathogenesis to a variety of plant types, including rice, crucifers, cotton, wheat, peppers, tomatoes, and geraniums. However, Xanthomonas species do not respond well to chemical treatments that induce competence necessary for transformation studies, and a highly reproducible natural transformation system has yet to be developed. Electrotransformation, a technique by which bacteria are transformed by electroporation, offers an alternative to natural transformation systems (1 ). Our studies have primarily been concerned with Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae , the causal agent of bacterial leaf blight in rice (2 ); however, information on other species is included in our discussion.