Host-Specific Phytotoxic Polysaccharide from Apple Tissue Infected by Erwinia amylovora.

A toxin isolated from apple fruit tissue infected by Erwinia amylovora is 98 percent galactose in polymeric form, 0.375 percent protein, and has an average molecular weight of approximately 165,000. Young shoots of rosaceous, but not nonrosaceous, species wilt in a manner characteristic of the disease when placed in toxin solutions with concentrations as low as 10 micrograms per milliliter. Varieties of apple and pear susceptible to Erwinia amylovora wilt in 1 to 3 hours, whereas resistant varieties display symptoms 12 to 24 hours after treatment.