Bacteriophage-Mediated Control of Phytopathogenic Xanthomonads: A Promising Green Solution for the Future

Abstract

Xanthomonads, members of the family Xanthomonadaceae, are economically important plant pathogenic bacteria responsible for infections of over 400 plant species. Bacteriophage-based biopesticides can provide an environmentally friendly, effective solution to control these bacteria. Bacteriophage-based biocontrol has important advantages over chemical pesticides, and treatment with these biopesticides is a minor intervention into the microflora. However, bacteriophages’ agricultural application has limitations rooted in these viruses’ biological properties as active substances. These disadvantageous features, together with the complicated registration process of bacteriophage-based biopesticides, means that there are few products available on the market. This review summarizes our knowledge of the Xanthomonas-host plant and bacteriophage-host bacterium interaction’s possible influence on bacteriophage-based biocontrol strategies and provides examples of greenhouse and field trials and products readily available in the EU and the USA. It also details the most important advantages and limitations of the agricultural application of bacteriophages. This paper also investigates the legal background and industrial property right issues of bacteriophage-based biopesticides. When appropriately applied, bacteriophages can provide a promising tool against xanthomonads, a possibility that is untapped. Information presented in this review aims to explore the potential of bacteriophage-based biopesticides in the control of xanthomonads in the future.

Resistance of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae to Lytic Phage X2 by Spontaneous Mutation of Lipopolysaccharide Synthesis-Related Glycosyltransferase

“…In addition to being involved in phage–bacterium interaction, LPS is involved in the interactions between bacteria and plant host as an important surface-associated virulence factor for bacterial pathogens including Xanthomonas [ 44 , 45 , 46 ]. The lack of LPS O-chain led to different host defense responses and reduced virulence in X. campestris pv.…”

Sustainable Management of Diseases in Horticulture: Conventional and New Options

“…One branch of development for obtaining biocontrol agents is based on bacteriophages and phages, the viruses of bacteria. Apart from their stability in the environment [142], one of the most critical points for the utilisation of biocontrol agents is the definition of their host range. This aspect is critical since the potential dispersal of such agents into the environment should not create problems for beneficial bacterial microflora [143,144].…”

“…Moreover, phages should not interfere with the genetic material of the target plant by r eleasing traits through transduction that could be incorporated into the plant cell [143]. There are many studies demonstrating the in vitro effectiveness of phages and phage cocktails in infecting and killing plant pathogenic bacteria, even though relatively few strains have reached the commercial phase [142][143][144]. This lack of commercial applications could be due to the intrinsic difficulty in establishing a direct correlation between laboratory and field conditions [145].…”

Isolation, Characterization and Draft Genome Analysis of Bacteriophages Infecting Acidovorax citrulli

“…Bacteriophages, viruses of bacteria, are considered promising biocontrol agents (Buttimer et al, 2017;Choudhary et al, 2022). Previous studies investigated their potential in use against different genera of phytopathogenic bacteria as previously reviewed (Jones et al, 2007;Buttimer et al, 2017;Stefani et al, 2021). Recently, Rahimi-Midani et al (2018) reported for the first time isolation of phages infecting A. citrulli.…”