Potential control of potato soft rot disease by the obligate predators Bdellovibrio and like organisms.

Potential control of potato soft rot disease by the obligate predators Bdellovibrio and like organisms. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2020 Jan 17;: Authors: Youdkes D, Helman Y, Burdman S, Matan O, Jurkevitch E Abstract Bacterial soft rot diseases caused by Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. affect a wide range of crops including potato, a major food crop. As of today, farmers mostly rely on sanitary practices, water management and plant nutrition for control.We tested the bacterial predators Bdellovibrio and like organisms (BALOs) to control potato soft rot. BALOs are small, motile predatory bacteria found in terrestrial and aquatic environments. They predate on a wide range of Gram-negative bacteria, including animal and plant pathogens. To this end, BALO strains HD100, 109J and ΔmerRNA were shown to efficiently prey on various rot-causing strains of Pectobacterium and Dickeya solani BALO control of maceration caused by a highly virulent strain of P. carotovorum subsp. brasilense (Pcb), was then tested in situ using a potato slice assay. All BALO strains were highly effective at reducing disease up to complete prevention. Effectivity was concentration-dependent, and BALOs applied before Pcb inoculation performed significantly better than when applied after the disease-causing agent, maybe due to in situ consumption of glucose by the prey, as glucose metabolism by live prey bacteria was shown to prevent predation. Dead predators and th...
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research