EPIPHYTIC GROWTH OF A PATHOGENIC AND AN AVIRULENT STRAIN OF ERWINIA AMYLOVORA ON PEAR AND APPLE FLOWERS IN RELATION TO BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

As a prerequisite to infection of flowers, Erwinia amylovora grows epiphytically on stigmas, which provide a conducive habitat for bacterial growth. Stigmas also support growth of several other bacterial genera, which allows for biological control of fire blight; although, in practice, it is very difficult to exclude E. amylovora completely from this habitat. We investigated the dynamics of growth suppression of E. amylovora by comparing the ability of virulent and avirulent strains of E. amylovora to compete with each other on stigmas of pear, apple, and blackberry, and to compete with a co-inoculated mixture of effective bacterial antagonists. When strains were inoculated individually, virulent E. amylovora strain Ea153N attained the highest population size on stigmas, with population sizes that were approximately double those of an avirulent hrpL mutant of Ea153 or the bacterial antagonists. In competition experiments, growth of the avirulent derivative was suppressed by the antagonist mixture to a greater extent than the virulent strain. Unexpectedly, the virulent strain enhanced the population size of the antagonist mixture. Similarly, a small dose of virulent Ea153N added to inoculum of an avirulent hrpL mutant of Ea153 significantly increased the population size of the avirulent strain. A pathogenesis-gene reporter strain, Ea153 dspE::gfp, was applied to flowers and a subset of the population expressed the green fluorescent protein while growing epiphytically on stigmas of apple. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that virulent E. amylovora modifies the epiphytic habitat presented by the stigma through a pathogenesis-related process, which increases host resources available to itself and, coincidentally, to nonpathogenic competitors. Over nine orchard trials, avirulent Ea153 hrpL significantly suppressed the incidence of fire blight four times compared with six for the antagonist mixture. The degree of biological control achievable with an avirulent strain of E. amylovora likely is limited by its inability to utilize the stigmatic habitat to the same degree as a virulent strain.

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Biological Control of Bacterial Wilt of Tomato by an Avirulent Strain of Pseudomonas solanacearum Isolated from Strelitzia reginae.

Japanese Journal of Phytopathology ◽

10.3186/jjphytopath.60.421 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 60 (4) ◽

pp. 421-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Triwidodo ARWIYANTO ◽

Masao GOTO ◽

Shinji TSUYUMU ◽

Yuichi TAKIKAWA

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Bacterial Wilt ◽

Avirulent Strain ◽

Pseudomonas Solanacearum ◽

Strelitzia Reginae

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POPULATION DYNAMICS OF ERWINIA AMYLOVORA AND A BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENT, ERWINIA HERBICOLA, ON APPLE BLOSSOM PARTS

Acta Horticulturae ◽

10.17660/actahortic.1987.217.37 ◽

1987 ◽

pp. 221-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J.R. Rundle ◽

S.V. Beer

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Population Dynamics ◽

Erwinia Amylovora ◽

Biological Control Agent ◽

Control Agent ◽

Erwinia Herbicola

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Control of Fire Blight by Pseudomonas fluorescens A506 and Pantoea vagans C9-1 Applied as Single Strains and Mixed Inocula

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-03-10-0097 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 100 (12) ◽

pp. 1330-1339 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

V. O. Stockwell ◽

K. B. Johnson ◽

D. Sugar ◽

J. E. Loper

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Pseudomonas Fluorescens ◽

Fire Blight ◽

Erwinia Amylovora ◽

Field Trials ◽

Disease Suppression ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

Population Sizes ◽

Mixed Inocula ◽

Pantoea Vagans

The biological control agents Pseudomonas fluorescens A506 and Pantoea vagans C9-1 were evaluated individually and in combination for the suppression of fire blight of pear or apple in 10 field trials inoculated with the pathogen Erwinia amylovora. The formulation of pathogen inoculum applied to blossoms influenced establishment of the pathogen and the efficacy of biological control. Pantoea vagans C9-1 suppressed fire blight in all five trials in which the pathogen was applied as lyophilized cells but in none of the trials in which the pathogen was applied as freshly harvested cells. In contrast, Pseudomonas fluorescens A506 reduced disease significantly in only one trial. A mixture of the two strains also suppressed fire blight, but the magnitude of disease suppression over all field trials (averaging 32%) was less than that attained by C9-1 alone (42%). The two biological control agents did not antagonize one another on blossom surfaces, and application of the mixture of A506 and C9-1 to blossoms resulted in a greater proportion of flowers having detectable populations of at least one bacterial antagonist than the application of individual strains. Therefore, the mixture of A506 and C9-1 provided less disease control than expected based upon the epiphytic population sizes of the antagonists on blossom surfaces. We speculate that the biocontrol mixture was less effective than anticipated due to incompatibility between the mechanisms by which A506 and C9-1 suppress disease.

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Bee Vectoring: Development of the Japanese Orchard Bee as a Targeted Delivery System of Biological Control Agents for Fire Blight Management

Pathogens ◽

10.3390/pathogens9010041 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Neelendra K. Joshi ◽

Henry K. Ngugi ◽

David J. Biddinger

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Targeted Delivery ◽

Fire Blight ◽

Erwinia Amylovora ◽

The United States ◽

Biocontrol Agents ◽

Efficient System ◽

Control Product ◽

Tree Fruits ◽

Potential Use

Fire blight, which is caused by the bacteria Erwinia amylovora, remains one of the most important diseases limiting the productivity of apple and pear orchards in the United States. In commercial orchards, in-season fire blight management relies exclusively on the use of antibiotic treatments (such as streptomycin and oxytetracycline) and on bacterial biocontrol agents whose efficacy is limited. We hypothesize that the efficacy of the biocontrol agents can be greatly enhanced through targeted delivery to flowers, which serve as initial infection courts, using the Japanese orchard bee, Osmia cornifrons. Many factors, such as the synchrony of life cycle with plant phenology and specificity to pomaceous plants, suggest that O. cornifrons could be an excellent vector of the biocontrol products during bloom in pome tree fruits. However, deployment of this pollinator species to deliver biocontrol agents for fire blight control has not been attempted previously due to the lack of an efficient system to pack the bodies of the bees exiting nesting tubes with the biocontrol products. In this study, we design and test a dispenser system to facilitate the use of O. conifrons as a vector for commercially available biocontrol products for fire blight control. The effectiveness of O. conifrons to deliver biocontrol agents to flowers, and to effect secondary dissemination from treated to untreated flowers is also evaluated in greenhouse experiments. We found that the O. conifrons bees were able to use the nest dispenser designed for the delivery of biological control products, and are effective in vectoring and delivering the Bacillus subtilis-based biological control product (Serenade®) to apple blossoms. We also found that the O. cornifrons were effective in secondary inoculation of this biological control product to newly-opened flowers. These findings suggest the potential use of commercially available O. conifrons and other orchard bees in targeted delivery of biological control products for fire blight, and possibly other diseases, in different fruit crops.

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Influence of Age of Apple Flowers on Growth of Erwinia amylovora and Biological Control Agents

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis.2003.87.5.502 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 87 (5) ◽

pp. 502-509 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

S. V. Thomson ◽

S. C. Gouk

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Fire Blight ◽

Erwinia Amylovora ◽

Antagonistic Bacteria ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

Limited Growth ◽

Bacterial Populations ◽

Arid Conditions ◽

Flower Age ◽

Causal Pathogen

The influence of flower age on growth of Erwinia amylovora, the causal pathogen of fire blight of apples and pears, was investigated under humid and arid conditions in Hamilton, New Zealand (NZ), and Logan, UT, USA, respectively. ‘Royal Gala’ apple flowers ranging from 1 to 8 days old were atomized with E. amylovora. Pistils were dissected and washed separately from the remaining floral parts (flowers ex pistils) for estimation of bacterial numbers. Pistils, 1 to 3 days old (USA) and 1 to 4 days old (NZ), supported exponential growth of E. amylovora, but bacterial populations did not increase when older flowers were inoculated. Scanning electron microscopy showed round and turgid papillae on stigmas of 1-day-old flowers. Papillae on 4- to 6-day-old stigmas were completely collapsed and covered in mucilage. Populations of E. amy-lovora on the flowers ex pistils were characteristically lower than pistil populations. High populations of saprophytic bacteria were found on both floral parts of all ages, but there was no difference in their numbers on 3- to 6-day-old pistils. This suggests their presence did not inhibit the growth of E. amylovora on older stigmas. The results demonstrate that stigmas on 1- to 3-day-old flowers often support rapid growth of E. amylovora, but flowers inoculated when more than 4 to 5 days old do not support growth or only limited growth. The same location and pattern of bacterial growth occurred with the biological control agents Pseudomonas fluorescens PfA506n and Pantoea agglomerans (Erwinia herbicola) Eh318nr. The distinct effect of flower age on growth of antagonistic bacteria and E. amylovora may be important in deciding when to treat with biological control organisms or bactericides.

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