Elucidation of the interaction between Ralstonia solanacearum and its bacteriophages
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Wang, Kuan-Chung
Abstract
Ralstonia solanacearum is a soil-borne, xylem-inhabited plant pathogen. The wide host range (Hayward, 1991) and the lethal wilting symptom render R. solanacearum a globly important pathogen. Commercial pesticides and antibiotics are generally ineffective in controlling bacterial wilt (BW) caused by the pathogen (Denny, 2006). Therefore, biological control methods would be one of the feasible approaches to reduce crop losses caused by this bacterium. In this study, indigenous R. solanacearum bacteriophages were isolated and identified to be T7-like phages. The characteristics of these phages, including host range, lytic ability and optimal pH for the isolated phages have been determined. Their potential of being employed as biocontrol agents against tomato BW was also demonstrated. Furthermore, a systematic survey of R. solanacearum genes essential for phage infection has been carried out and led to the identification of 21 genes. About a half of these genes are or could be involved in biosynthesis of lipopolysaccharides (LPS). The rest of the identified genes included those involved in sugar metabolism and unknown function genes. The elucidation of phage infection mechanism not only is valuable for basic research, but also could be useful for boosting the efficiency of phage therapy by artificially introducing infection essential genes into the phage genomes. These studies collectively are expected to pave the way for elucidating phage-host interactions and establishing useful biocontrol means.
Subjects
Ralstonia
bacterial wilt
bacteriophage
biocontrol
lipopolysaccharides
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