Soft rot disease often affects Phalaenopsis amabilis during the growing season. However, the pathogen of the disease is remaining poorly studied. In this study, bacterial strain R1 was isolated from soft rot tissues in Wuhan. The pathogenic, morphological, physiological, biochemical tests and 16S rDNA sequence analysis were carried out. The homology of 16S rDNA sequence between strain R1 and Pseudomonas grimontii was 99.72%, and its physiological and biochemical properties were also similar to those of Pseudomonas grimontiis. All these evidences indicated that strain R1 could be identified as a novel strain of Pseudomonas grimontii.The pathogenicity of the novel isolate was proved according to the Koch′s postulates. This is the first report that Pseudomonas grimontii can cause soft rot disease of Phalaenopsis amabilis.
