Abstract
Pectinolytic Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. are necrotrophic bacterial pathogens of many important crops, including potato, worldwide. This study reports on the isolation and characterization of broad host lytic bacteriophages able to infect the dominant Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. affecting potato in Europe viz. Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc), P. wasabiae (Pwa) and Dickeya solani (Dso) with the objective to assess their potential as biological disease control agents. Two lytic bacteriophages infecting stains of Pcc, Pwa and Dso were isolated from potato samples collected from two potato fields in central Poland. The ΦPD10.3 and ΦPD23.1 phages have morphology similar to other members of the Myoviridae family and the Caudovirales order, with a head diameter of 85 and 86 nm and length of tails of 117 and 121 nm, respectively. They were characterized for optimal multiplicity of infection, the rate of adsorption to the Pcc, Pwa and Dso cells, the latent period and the burst size. The phages were genotypically characterized with RAPD-PCR and RFLP techniques. The structural proteomes of both phages were obtained by fractionation of phage proteins by SDS-PAGE. Phage protein identification was performed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), genome sequencing and comparative genome analysis were used to gain knowledge of the length, organization and function of the ΦPD10.3 and ΦPD23.1 genomes. The potential use of ΦPD10.3 and ΦPD23.1 phages for the biocontrol of Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. infections in potato is discussed.
Highlights
Soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (SRE): Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. are ubiquitous necrotrophic bacterial pathogens of agriculturally important crops worldwide; they can be isolated from plants, soil, and water as well as from the surface of and within insects [1]
In order to find bacteriophages able to infect more than one species or subspecies of SRE, the above described 28 bacteriophages were tested for to lyse 99 Dickeya and Pectobacterium spp. strains including the type strains and environmental isolates; 8 isolates of D. dadantii, 6 isolates of D. dianthicola, 5 isolates of D. zeae, 2 isolates of D. paradisiaca, 4 isolates of D. chrysanthemi, 16 isolates of D. solani, 25 isolates of P. atrosepticum, 24 isolates of P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, 7 isolates of P. wasabiae and 2 isolates of P. carotovorum subsp. brasiliense were used (S1 Table)
Only two named φPD10.3 and φPD23.1 possessed the broadest host range from all the phages isolated in this study (S1 Table)
Summary
Soft rot Enterobacteriaceae (SRE): Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. are ubiquitous necrotrophic bacterial pathogens of agriculturally important crops worldwide; they can be isolated from plants, soil, and water as well as from the surface of and within insects [1]. The main soft rot Enterobacteriaceae causing blackleg, which affects the growing plant, and tuber soft rot of potato in storage and transit are Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. SRE bacteria are able to establish a systematic infection and to kill the host plant [7, 9]. They characteristically produce large quantities of different extracellular plant cell wall degrading enzymes They characteristically produce large quantities of different extracellular plant cell wall degrading enzymes (e. g. cellulases, pectinases, proteases, pectate lyases, polygalacturonases, pectin methylesterases phospholipases) that allow the bacteria to infiltrate vascular compartments and result in a maceration (rotting) of plant host tissues [2, 6, 9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
