Phages of phytopathogenic bacteria: High potential, but challenging application

Abstract

Phytopathogenic bacteria are one of the most significant causes of crop yield losses. Until now, the direct treatment of bacterioses was limited to the application of antibacterial compounds or resistance inducers. This is about to change due to the revolutionary discovery of phages. Indeed, bacteriophages look very promising as therapy agents: cheap, self-amplifying, self-eliminating, and safe for the host organism. However, phage therapy of plant diseases remains a “direction with high potential”, which, so far, has very few successful implication cases. Here, we discuss recent advances in phage research, focusing on the challenges associated with the evaluation of phage biological activity, under both laboratory and environmental conditions.

Isolation of bacteriophages infecting Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae and genomic characterization of novel phage vB_XooS_NR08 for biocontrol of bacterial leaf blight of rice

“…In recent years, phages have been isolated against bacteria infecting the majority of crops. Several studies showed that phage therapy using lytic bacteriophages was plausible for controlling plant pathogenic bacteria associated with several systems as they are cheap, self-amplifying, self-eliminating, and safe for the host organism ( Korniienko et al, 2022 ). Due to ineffective chemical control methods, increasing antimicrobial resistance, and increasing environmental concerns, bacteriophages offer alternative management strategies for controlling plant diseases caused by bacterial pathogens.…”

“…oryzae XooCG01 at 28°C. The phage NR08-treated (orange color line) bacterial count showed bacteriostasis up to 24 h as compared to bacterial control (blue color line); thereafter, the reduction in the count was 99.95% as compared to untreated bacterial control at 48 h. controlling plant pathogenic bacteria associated with several systems as they are cheap, self-amplifying, self-eliminating, and safe for the host organism (Korniienko et al, 2022). Due to ineffective chemical control methods, increasing resistance, and increasing environmental concerns, bacteriophages offer alternative management strategies for controlling plant diseases caused by bacterial pathogens.…”

Phage Delivery Strategies for Biocontrolling Human, Animal, and Plant Bacterial Infections: State of the Art

“…The most relevant phytopathogen bacteria responsible for damaging crops and affecting food production around the world are Pseudomonas spp., Xanthomonas spp., Pectobacterium spp., Ralstonia spp., Burkholderia spp., Dickeya spp., Clavibacter ichiganensis , and Agrobacterium tumefaciens [ 177 ]. To combat these phytopathogens, the bulk of isolated phages are tailed ones (mainly from the Podoviridae or Myoviridae families), although the use of filamentous phages has also shown considerable potential [ 32 ].…”

“…For plant crops, bacteriophage-based biocontrol has been used on several important bacterial plant pathogens, with very promising results [ 30 ]. In this way, over the years, many bacteriophages against many plant-pathogenic bacteria have been isolated from environmental sources, and diverse studies have shown that their use allows for the efficient management of disease development in both controlled (greenhouse) and open (field) conditions [ 31 , 32 ]. Nowadays, several phage-based biocontrol products have reached the market [ 30 , 33 ].…”

Isolation and Characterization of Two Lytic Phages Efficient Against Phytopathogenic Bacteria From Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas Genera

“…are among the most popular hosts for novel phage isolation ( Zrelovs et al, 2021b ). Moreover, novel phages infecting P. syringae are being constantly isolated and described, largely in search for appropriate P. syringae biocontrol agents among them ( Korniienko et al, 2021 ). For example, a highly effective commercially available phage φ6 was found to be efficient against P. syringae pv.…”