Effectiveness of tailocins produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens SF4c in controlling the bacterial-spot disease in tomatoes caused by Xanthomonas vesicatoria.

Abstract

The development of alternatives for the use of chemical pesticides for plant disease control is the present-day and ongoing challenge for achieving sustainable agriculture. Pseudomonas fluorescens SF4c, native strain from wheat, produces tailocins (phage-tail-like bacteriocins) with antimicrobial activity against several phytopathogenic strains. We thus investigated the efficacy of foliar application of these bacteriocins to control the bacterial-spot disease in tomato caused by Xanthomonas vesicatoria Xcv Bv5-4a. The disease severity and incidence index were reduced by 44 and 36%, respectively; while the number of viable cells of X. vesicatoria Xcv Bv5-4a decreased after bacteriocin treatment. Furthermore, bacteriocin was effective in reducing bacterial-spot-disease symptoms on tomato fruits even when applied 12 h after infection. Tailocin activity was not affected by abiotic influences such as adjuvant, light and temperature and, biotic factors such as apoplastic-fluids. In contrast, no antibacterial activity of these tailocins was observed when the bacteriocin was exposed to extremely dry conditions. Finally, that no cytotoxic effects on mammalian cells were observed with this representative tailocins is highly significant and demonstrates the safety of such compounds in humans. All these findings indicate that the SF4c tailocins represent an attractive alternative to copper-containing bactericides for use in the control of bacterial spot.

• Authors: Analía Príncipe, Maricruz Fernandez, Milenka Torasso, Agustina Godino, Sonia Fischer
• Journal: Microbiological research (Microbiol Res) 2018 Jul - Aug Vol. 212-213 Pg. 94-102 ISSN: 1618-0623 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 29853172 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2018 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Bacteriocins
• Biological Control Agents

Topics

• Animals
• Anti-Bacterial Agents (biosynthesis, pharmacology)
• Antibiosis
• Bacterial Infections (drug therapy)
• Bacteriocins (chemistry, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacology)
• Biological Control Agents (metabolism, pharmacology)
• Chlorocebus aethiops
• Erythrocytes (drug effects)
• Light
• Solanum lycopersicum (growth & development, microbiology)
• Plant Diseases (microbiology, therapy)
• Plant Leaves (cytology, drug effects, microbiology)
• Pseudomonas fluorescens (metabolism)
• Sheep
• Temperature
• Vero Cells (drug effects)
• Xanthomonas vesicatoria (drug effects, pathogenicity)