Abstract
From necrotic tissue of a Nashi pear tree, 24 Erwinia pyrifoliae strains, found to be identical by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis, were isolated. Thirteen strains were not virulent on immature pears and did not induce a hypersensitive response in tobacco leaves. The defective gene hrpL was complemented with intact genes from E. pyrifoliae and Erwinia amylovora.