scholarly journals Inoculation of stigma colonizing microbes to apple stigmas alters microbiome structure and reduces the occurrence of fire blight disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhouqi Cui ◽  
Regan B. Huntley ◽  
Neil Schultes ◽  
Blaire Steven ◽  
Quan Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Fire Blight ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Disease Suppression ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Microbiome Composition ◽  
Microbial Inoculation ◽  
Short Life Span ◽  
Blight Disease ◽  
Different Strains

Flowers secrete nutrient rich exudates that support the growth of an assemblage of microorganisms, including both beneficial and pathogenic members, most of which belong to the phylum Proteobacteria. Given the potential role of the microbiome in plant health, manipulating the microbiome to promote growth of beneficial members holds promise in controlling plant diseases. In this study we inoculated four different bacterial strains that were originally isolated from apple stigmas, alone or in mixtures of increasing complexity, onto apple flowers during bloom. We tested if such treatments would influence fire blight occurrence, a disease caused by Erwinia amylovora, and if we could detect a shift in the structure of the microbiome due to the treatments. We show that various inoculations did influence the occurrence of fire blight, although the level of disease suppression was dependent upon specific bacterial strains. Furthermore, treatments using different strains or strain mixtures predominantly resulted in increased representation of the inoculated strains, suggesting that disease suppression was due to an alteration of the stigma microbiome structure. Compared to treatments with single strains, a Pantoea-Pseudomonas strain mixture produced a homogeneous microbiome structure with less inter-flower variability. Findings from this study suggest the microbiome on the flower stigma can be manipulated through microbial inoculation. Due to flowers’ short life span yet important role in plant disease infection, even a shot-term influence on microbiome composition may result in significant decreases in disease susceptibility.

scholarly journals Isolation and efficacy of two bacterial strains antagonists of Erwinia amylovora and Pectobacterium carotovorum

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M’hamed BENADA ◽  
Boualem BOUMAAZA ◽  
Sofiane BOUDALIA ◽  
Omar KHALADI
Keyword(s):  
Fire Blight ◽  
Erwinia Amylovora ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Crop Protection ◽  
Soft Rot ◽  
Causal Agent ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Pectobacterium Carotovorum ◽  
Bacterial Strains

Abstract Background The development of ecofriendly tools against plant diseases is an important issue in crop protection. Screening and selection process of bacterial strains antagonists of 2 pathogenic bacterial species that limit very important crops, Erwinia amylovora, the causal agent of the fire blight disease, and Pectobacterium carotovorum, the causal agent of bacterial potato soft rot, were reported. Bacterial colonies were isolated from different ecological niches, where both pathogens were found: rhizosphere of potato tubers and fruits and leaves of pear trees from the northwest region of Algeria. Direct and indirect confrontation tests against strains of E. amylovora and P. carotovorum were performed. Results Results showed a significant antagonistic activity against both phytopathogenic species, using direct confrontation method and supernatants of cultures (p<0.005). In vitro assays showed growth inhibitions of both phytopathogenic species. Furthermore, results revealed that the strains of S. plymuthica had a better inhibitory effect than the strains of P. fluorescens against both pathogens. In vivo results on immature pear fruits showed a significant decrease in the progression of the fire blight symptoms, with a variation in the infection index from one antagonistic strain to another between 31.3 and 50%, and slice of potato showed total inhibition of the pathogen (P. carotovorum) by the antagonistic strains of Serratia plymuthica (p<0.005). Conclusion This study highlighted that the effective bacteria did not show any infection signs towards plant tissue, and considered as a potential strategy to limit the fire blight and soft rot diseases.

scholarly journals Prophages and Past Prophage-Host Interactions Revealed by CRISPR Spacer Content in a Fish Pathogen

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1919
Author(s):  
Elina Laanto ◽  
Janne J. Ravantti ◽  
Lotta-Riina Sundberg
Keyword(s):  
Flavobacterium Columnare ◽  
Strain Atcc ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Fish Pathogen ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Host Interactions ◽  
Different Strains ◽  
Gene Orthologs ◽  
Similar Genome Organization

The role of prophages in the evolution, diversification, or virulence of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare has not been studied thus far. Here, we describe a functional spontaneously inducing prophage fF4 from the F. columnare type strain ATCC 23463, which is not detectable with commonly used prophage search methods. We show that this prophage type has a global distribution and is present in strains isolated from Finland, Thailand, Japan, and North America. The virions of fF4 are myoviruses with contractile tails and infect only bacterial strains originating from Northern Finland. The fF4 resembles transposable phages by similar genome organization and several gene orthologs. Additional bioinformatic analyses reveal several species in the phylum Bacteroidetes that host a similar type of putative prophage, including bacteria that are important animal and human pathogens. Furthermore, a survey of F. columnare Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR) spacers indicate a shared evolutionary history between F. columnare strains and the fF4 phage, and another putative prophage in the F. columnare strain ATCC 49512, named p49512. First, CRISPR spacer content from the two CRISPR loci (types II-C and VI-B) of the fF4 lysogen F. columnare ATCC 23463 revealed a phage terminase protein-matching spacer in the VI-B locus. This spacer is also present in two Chinese F. columnare strains. Second, CRISPR analysis revealed four F. columnare strains that contain unique spacers targeting different regions of the putative prophage p49512 in the F. columnare strain ATCC 49512, despite the geographical distance or genomovar of the different strains. This suggests a common ancestry for the F. columnare prophages and different host strains.

scholarly journals Pathogenic Escherichia coli – virulence mechanisms

2016 ◽  
Vol 72 (6) ◽  
pp. 352-357
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Półtorak ◽  
Kinga Wieczorek ◽  
Jacek Osek
Keyword(s):  
Bloodstream Infections ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Intestinal Epithelial ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Internal Organs ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Cellular Processes ◽  
Pathogenic Escherichia Coli ◽  
Different Strains

E. coli are the predominant microorganisms in the human gastrointestinal tract. In most cases, they exist as harmless comensals, and some of them are beneficial to their host in balancing gut flora and absorption of nutrients. However, there are pathogenic strains that cause a broad range of diseases in humans and animals, from diarrhea to bloodstream infections. Among bacterial strains causing these symptoms, seven pathotypes are now recognized: enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC), and adherent-invasive E. coli (AIEC). Several different strains cause diverse diseases by means of virulence factors that facilitate their interactions with the host, including colonization of the intestinal epithelial surfaces, crossing of the mucosal barriers, invasion of the bloodstream and internal organs or producing toxins that affect various cellular processes. Pathogenic E. coli are commonly studied in humans, animals, food and the environment, in developed and developing countries. The presented paper reviews recent information concerning the pathogenic mechanisms of E. coli, the role of animals and food in the transmission chain and a short overview of epidemiological data.

scholarly journals HIPM Is a Susceptibility Gene of Malus spp.: Reduced Expression Reduces Susceptibility to Erwinia amylovora

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela Campa ◽  
Stefano Piazza ◽  
Laura Righetti ◽  
Chang-Sik Oh ◽  
Lorenza Conterno ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Fire Blight ◽  
Erwinia Amylovora ◽  
Susceptibility Gene ◽  
Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation ◽  
Interacting Protein ◽  
Blight Disease ◽  
Oxygen Evolving ◽  
Transgenic Apple

Fire blight, a devastating disease caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, is a major threat to apple crop production. To improve our understanding of the fire blight disease and to identify potential strategies to control the pathogen, we studied the apple protein HIPM (for HrpN-interacting protein from Malus spp.), which has previously been identified as interacting with the E. amylovora effector protein HrpN. Transgenic apple plants were generated with reduced HIPM expression, using an RNA interference construct, and were subsequently analyzed for susceptibility to E. amylovora infection. Lines exhibiting a greater than 50% silencing of HIPM expression showed a significant decrease in susceptibility to E. amylovora infection. Indeed, a correlation between HIPM expression and E. amylovora infection was identified, demonstrating the crucial role of HIPM during fire blight disease progression. Furthermore, an apple oxygen-evolving enhancer-like protein (MdOEE) was identified via a yeast two-hybrid screen to interact with HIPM. This result was confirmed with bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays and leads to new hypotheses concerning the response mechanism of the plant to E. amylovora as well as the mechanism of infection of the bacterium. These results suggest that MdOEE and, particularly, HIPM are promising targets for further investigations toward the genetic improvement of apple.

Phage therapy for plant disease control with a focus on fire blight

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Nagy ◽  
Lóránt Király ◽  
Ildikó Schwarczinger
Keyword(s):  
Pest Management ◽  
Fire Blight ◽  
Phage Therapy ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Bacterial Disease ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
The Past ◽  
Plant Disease Control ◽  
American Authors

AbstractThe concept of using bacteriophages (bacterial viruses) as biocontrol agents in pest management emerged shortly after their discovery. Although research on phage-based biopesticides temporarily stopped with the advent of antibiotics, the appearance of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains led to a renewed interest in phage therapy for control of plant diseases. In the past twenty years numerous successful experiments have been reported on bacteriophage-based biocontrol measures, and several comprehensive studies have recently been published discussing detailed results of phage application practices in pest management, mainly from North American authors. The present review focuses on bacteriophage-mediated control of fire blight (caused by Erwinia amylovora (Burill) Winslow et al.), the most devastating bacterial disease of pome fruits. Research results from North America are discussed along with recent data from European laboratories.

scholarly journals Effect of antimicrobial peptides and monoterpenes on control of fire blight

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. e1002
Author(s):  
Mahdi Akhlaghi ◽  
Saeed Tarighi ◽  
Parissa Taheri
Keyword(s):  
Antimicrobial Peptides ◽  
Fire Blight ◽  
Erwinia Amylovora ◽  
Plant Diseases ◽  
Guaiacol Peroxidase ◽  
Resistance Level ◽  
Defense Enzyme ◽  
Colony Number ◽  
Blight Disease ◽  
Central Composite

Aim of study: Antimicrobial peptides and monoterpenes are safe compounds that have been used for control of many plant diseases. Herein, the effects of two recombinant antibacterial peptides (AMPs) were compared with two monoterpenes for control of Erwinia amylovora directly or via induction of plant defense enzyme guaiacol peroxidase (GPOD).Area of study: The experiments were performed at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (Iran).Material and methods: The central composite design (CCD) method was used to study the effect of mixing the compounds and copper compound (Nordox) in controlling the pathogen. The resistance level was studied on shoots of tolerant (‘Dargazi’) and semi-susceptible (‘Spadona’) pear cultivars treated with the antibacterial compounds.Main results: Thanatin and 1,8-cineole showed the highest and lowest antibacterial effects. All treatments reduced E. amylovora pathogenicity on blossom. The CCD analysis revealed that the best reduction in colony number obtained by mixing Lfc, thanatin, thymol, 1,8-cineole and Nordox at concentrations of 32, 16, 24, 250 and 250 μg/mL. Thymol and 1,8-cineole at 500 μg/mL decreased disease severity significantly compared to that of AMPs. The level of GPOD enzyme in ‘Dargazi’ was higher than in ‘Spadona’. All treatments increased the GPOD levels in both cultivars. Furthermore, resistance level and GPOD ratio were negatively correlated.Research highlights: Antimicrobial peptides showed better effect on growth inhibition of E. amylovora than monoterpenes. Mixing of these peptides and monoterpens at special dosage enhanced their antimicrobial efficacy against E. amylovora; that could represent a new method in control of fire blight disease.

scholarly journals Evaluation of a novel endophytic Pseudomonas lactis strain for control of boxwood blight1

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ping Kong
Keyword(s):  
Biocontrol Agent ◽  
Disease Suppression ◽  
Lead Times ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Control Efficacy ◽  
Public Gardens ◽  
Buxus Sempervirens ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Culture Growth ◽  
Blight Disease

Abstract Boxwood blight, caused by Calonectria pseudonaviculata (Cps) (Synonyms: Cylindrocladium buxicola, Cylindrocladium pseudonaviculatum), is a devastating disease which affects boxwood (Buxus) in private and public gardens worldwide. SW, an endophyte identified as a strain of Pseudomonas lactis, was isolated along with seven other bacterial strains from symptom-reversed boxwood leaves infected by Cps. SW had the largest population among the 8 isolates. SW inhibited Cps culture growth similar to three other antagonistic isolates but was the strongest suppressor of Cps conidial germination and germling development. When the cell-free supernatant (CFS) from SW liquid cultures was used to treat boxwood plants 48 h prior to inoculation with Cps, it resulted in a 69.4% disease reduction; suggesting involvement of its metabolites in disease suppression. Boxwood blight control efficacy was further evaluated with resuspended SW cell at 108-9 cfu.ml−1 at different treatment lead times. When SW was applied 2 or 10 days before inoculation with Cps, boxwood blight disease decreased by 72% and 67%, respectively. Further extending the lead time to 20 and 30 days, the efficacy was reduced to 26-27%. However, with its features of moderate control efficacy, high population in plant tissue and safety towards humans, SW shows great potential as a biocontrol agent for boxwood blight. Index words: Biocontrol agent, endophyte, plant pretreatment, Calonectria pseudonaviculata suppression. Species used in this study: Bacterium strain SW (Pseudomonas lactis). Plant species: Buxus sempervirens ‘Justin Brouwers'.

scholarly journals Bacteriocin-mediated competition in cystic fibrosis lung infections

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1814) ◽  
pp. 20150972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Ghoul ◽  
Stuart A. West ◽  
Helle Krogh Johansen ◽  
Søren Molin ◽  
Odile B. Harrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Competitive Dynamics ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Human Pathogens ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Lung Infections ◽  
Different Strains

Bacteriocins are toxins produced by bacteria to kill competitors of the same species. Theory and laboratory experiments suggest that bacteriocin production and immunity play a key role in the competitive dynamics of bacterial strains. The extent to which this is the case in natural populations, especially human pathogens, remains to be tested. We examined the role of bacteriocins in competition using Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains infecting lungs of humans with cystic fibrosis (CF). We assessed the ability of different strains to kill each other using phenotypic assays, and sequenced their genomes to determine what bacteriocins (pyocins) they carry. We found that (i) isolates from later infection stages inhibited earlier infecting strains less, but were more inhibited by pyocins produced by earlier infecting strains and carried fewer pyocin types; (ii) this difference between early and late infections appears to be caused by a difference in pyocin diversity between competing genotypes and not by loss of pyocin genes within a lineage over time; (iii) pyocin inhibition does not explain why certain strains outcompete others within lung infections; (iv) strains frequently carry the pyocin-killing gene, but not the immunity gene, suggesting resistance occurs via other unknown mechanisms. Our results show that, in contrast to patterns observed in experimental studies, pyocin production does not appear to have a major influence on strain competition during CF lung infections.

Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities of Artemisia herba-alba Asso Essential Oil from Middle Atlas, Morocco

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (S1) ◽  
pp. S48-S54
Author(s):  
Y. Ez zoubi ◽  
S. Lairini ◽  
A. Farah ◽  
K. Taghzouti ◽  
A. El Ouali Lalami
Keyword(s):  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Essential Oil ◽  
Foodborne Pathogens ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Antibacterial Activities ◽  
Culture Collection ◽  
Bornyl Acetate ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Disk Diffusion Assay ◽  
Different Strains

The purpose of this study was to determine the chemical composition and to evaluate the antioxidant and antibacterial effects of the Moroccan Artemisia herba-alba Asso essential oil against foodborne pathogens. The essential oil of Artemisia herba-alba was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy. The antibacterial activity was assessed against three bacterial strains isolated from foodstuff and three bacterial strains referenced by the ATCC (American Type Culture Collection) using the disk diffusion assay and the macrodilution method. The antioxidant activity was evaluated using the DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl) method. The fourteen compounds of the Artemisia herba-alba essential oil were identified; the main components were identified as β-thujone, chrysanthenone, α-terpineol, α-thujone, α-pinene, and bornyl acetate. The results of the antibacterial activity obtained showed a sensitivity of the different strains to Artemisia herba-alba essential oil with an inhibition diameter of 8.50 to 17.00 mm. Concerning the MICs (minimum inhibitory concentrations), the essential oil exhibited much higher antibacterial activity with MIC values of 2.5 μl/ml against Bacillus subtilis ATCC and Lactobacillus sp. The essential oil was found to be active by inhibiting free radicals with an IC50 (concentration of an inhibitor where the response is reduced by half) value of 2.9 μg/ml. These results indicate the possible use of the essential oil on food systems as an effective inhibitor of foodborne pathogens, as a natural antioxidant, and for potential pharmaceutical applications. However, further research is needed in order to determine the toxicity, antibacterial, and antioxidant effects in edible products.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document