Abstract:

Ginger is an important economic crop with high medicinal and nutritional value. Diseases caused by pathogenic
bacteria in ginger have negative impacts on its growth and storage postharvest quality, and often result in significant profit
reduction. In the present study, a novel bacterial pathogen, Salmonella enterica, was isolated from postharvest rhizomes
in Rongchang, Chongiqng city. The bacterium was identified by 16S rDNA sequence analysis, and morphological,
physiological and biochemical tests. After being inoculated with S. enterica, ginger leaves were found to suffer from
chlorosis and wrinkle and water and secretion appeared on the surface of rhizomes. Analysis of the population dynamics of
S. enterica indicated that the bacterium colonized and grew well on ginger rhizomes. Biochemical analyses indicated that
S. enterica activated antioxidant enzyme activities including superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and catalase in host tissues.
These results reveal that S. enterica has the capacity to parasitize ginger.

Key words: ginger, isolate, Salmonella enterica, antioxidant response