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Tolerance of Homoserine by Pseudomonas pisi and Implications of Homoserine in Plant Resistance. D. C. Hildebrand, Associate Research Plant Pathologist, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Berkeley 94720; Phytopathology 63:301-302. Accepted for publication 7 September 1972. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-63-301.

Homoserine utilization is a useful property for identification of Pseudomonas pisi, as all of 13 strains of this pathogen grew on it compared to only 1 of 117 strains from 14 species of other arginine-dihydrolase negative pseudomonads. Only P. marginalis among the arginine positive group tended to utilize homoserine. Lack of utilization was apparently due to homoserine toxicity, which could be overcome by L-glutamic acid and to a lesser extent glycerol. Homoserine may be one of the factors in pea which prevents infection by many pseudomonad pathogens.