• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.29-42
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• 2020

Acidovorax citrulli causes bacterial fruit blotch in Cucurbitaceae, including watermelon. Although A. citrulli is a seed-borne pathogen, it can cause diverse symptoms in other plant organs like leaves, stems and fruits. To determine the infection routes of A. citrulli, we examined the virulence of six isolates (Ac0, Ac1, Ac2, Ac4, Ac8, and Ac11) on watermelon using several inoculation methods. Among six isolates, DNA polymorphism reveals that three isolates Ac0, Ac1, and Ac4 belong to Clonal Complex (CC) group II and the others do CC group I. Ac0, Ac4, and Ac8 isolates efficiently infected seeds during germination in soil, and Ac0 and Ac4 also infected the roots of watermelon seedlings wounded prior to inoculation. Infection through leaves was successful only by three isolates belonging to CC group II, and two of these also infected the mature watermelon fruits. Ac2 did not cause the disease in all assays. Interestingly, three putative type III effectors (Aave_2166, Aave_2708, and Aave_3062) with intact forms were only found in CC group II. Overall, our results indicate that A. citrulli can infect watermelons through diverse routes, and the CC grouping of A. citrulli was only correlated with virulence in leaf infection assays.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.555-565
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• 2021

Bacteriophages infecting Acidovorax citrulli, the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch, have been proven to be effective for the prevention and control of this disease. However, the occurrence of bacteriophage-resistant bacteria is one of hurdles in phage biocontrol and the understanding of phage resistance in this bacterium is an essential step. In this study, we aim to investigate possible phage resistance of A. citrulli and relationship between phage resistance and pathogenicity, and to isolate and characterize the genes involved in these phenomena. A phage-resistant and less-virulent mutant named as AC-17-G1 was isolated among 3,264 A. citrulli Tn5 mutants through serial spot assays and plaque assays followed by pathogenicity test using seed coating method. The mutant has the integrated Tn5 in the middle of a cupin protein gene. This mutant recovered its pathogenicity and phage sensitivity by complementation with corresponding wild-type gene. Site-directed mutation of this gene from wild-type by CRISPR/Cas9 system resulted in the loss of pathogenicity and acquisition of phage resistance. The growth of AC-17-G1 in King's B medium was much less than the wild-type, but the growth turned into normal in the medium supplemented with D-mannose 6-phosphate or D-fructose 6-phosphate indicating the cupin protein functions as a phosphomannos isomerase. Sodium dodecyl sulfa analysis of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) extracted from the mutant was smaller than that from wild-type. All these data suggest that the cupin protein is a phosphomannos isomerase involved in LPS synthesis, and LPS is an important determinant of pathogenicity and phage susceptibility of A. citrulli.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.571-582
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• 2016

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) is one of most important diseases in Cucurbitaceae due to infection of Acidovorax citrulli, causing huge economic losses damage worldwide. This seedborn disease spread rapidly at period of high temperature and humidity. The eco-friendly farming is getting popular. So far there was no effective agent to control BFB in eco-friendly farming. Therefore, effect of the material based on chinese nut-gall extract with antibacterial activity against BFB to was tested against A. citrulli. Different hosts showed various symptoms of BFB. Liquid formulation among exhibited most effective anti-bacterial activity on A. citrulli. Pot experiment in greenhouse showed the potential as an control agent of BFB in cucurbits. The treatment of material based on chinese nut-gall extract showed the positive effect on survival of the watermelon seedling and on the length of the cucumber seedling treated with A. citrulli. We cautiously conclude that the material based on chinese nut-gall extract used in this study may be good agents against major diseases of cucurbits in the future even though it is require to be tested with more study on field test.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.575-582
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• 2018

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) caused by Acidovorax citrulli is a devastating disease found in many cucurbits cultivation fields. The genetic diversity for 29 strains of A. citrulli collected from various cucurbits in South Korea was determined by DNA fingerprinting with a pathogenicity test, multi locus analysis, Rep-PCR (repetitive sequence polymerase chain reaction), and URP (universal rice primers) PCR bands. Two distinct groups (Korean Clonal Complex, KCC1 and KCC2) in the population were identified based on group specific genetic variation in the multi locus phylogeny using six conserved loci and showed a very high similarity with DNA sequences for representative foreign groups [the group I (CC1-1 type) and the group II (CC2-5 type)] widely distributed worldwide, respectively. Additionally, in the case of phaC, a new genotype was found within each Korean group. The KCC1 was more heterogeneous compared to the KCC2. The KCC1 recovered mainly from melons and watermelons (ratio of 6 : 3) and 15 of the 20 KCC2 strains recovered from watermelons were dominant in the pathogen population. Accordingly, this study found that two distinct groups of differentiated A. citrulli exist in South Korea, genetically very similar to representative foreign groups, with a new genotype in each group resulting in their genetic diversity.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.235-244
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• 2023

Acidovorax citrulli (Ac) is a phytopathogenic bacterium that causes bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) in cucurbit crops, including watermelon. However, there are no effective methods to control this disease. YggS family pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme acts as a coenzyme in all transamination reactions, but its function in Ac is poorly understood. Therefore, this study uses proteomic and phenotypic analyses to characterize the functions. The Ac strain lacking the YggS family pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme, AcΔyppAc(EV), virulence was wholly eradicated in geminated seed inoculation and leaf infiltration. AcΔyppAc(EV) propagation was inhibited when exposed to L-homoserine but not pyridoxine. Wild-type and mutant growth were comparable in the liquid media but not in the solid media in the minimal condition. The comparative proteomic analysis revealed that YppAc is primarily involved in cell motility and wall/membrane/envelop biogenesis. In addition, AcΔyppAc(EV) reduced biofilm formation and twitching halo production, indicating that YppAc is involved in various cellular mechanisms and possesses pleiotropic effects. Therefore, this identified protein is a potential target for developing an efficient anti-virulence reagent to control BFB.

• Journal of agriculture & life science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2016

Bacterial fruit blotch(BFB) of cucurbits caused by Acidovorax citrulli(Acc) continues to diminish fruit yields. The aim of this study was to address whether two genetically distinct populations of Acc are present in watermelon-growing fields in Korea. For this purpose, we used the enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus polymerase chain reaction(ERIC-PCR) profiling and substrate-utilization profiles. According to the results of ERIC-PCR, group I and II strains showed clearly differentiated PCR-based fingerprinting profiles. Differences between group I and II strains included amplification of unique, group-specific DNA fragments such as the 1.3-, 0.28-, and 0.25-kb fragments in ERIC-PCR. Acc stains belonging to group I did not use L-leucine, whereas group II strains did use the substrate. Our results support the genetic differentiation of Acc strains into two groups and demonstrate that Acc strains from both groups are previously existed in watermelon-growing fields in Korea. Information about the genetic diversity of Acc under the present study will help scientists and managers form strategies to control BFB.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.59-64
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• 2018

Bacteriophages of Acidovorax citrulli, the causal agent of bacterial fruit blotch, were isolated from 39 watermelon, pumpkin, and cucumber leaf samples collected from various regions of Korea and tested against 18 A. citrulli strains. Among the six phages isolated, ACP17 forms the largest plaque, and exhibits the morphology of phages in the Myoviridae family with a head diameter of $100{\pm}5nm$ and tail length of $150{\pm}5nm$. ACP17 has eclipse and latent periods of $25{\pm}5min$ and $50{\pm}5min$, respectively, and a burst size of 120. The genome of ACP17 is 156,281 base pairs with a G + C content of 58.7%, 263 open reading frames, and 4 transfer RNA genes. Blast search and phylogenetic analysis of the major capsid protein showed that ACP17 has limited homology to two Stentrophomonas phages, suggesting that ACP17 is a new type of Myoviridae isolated from A. citrulli.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.170-183
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• 2017

Bacterial fruit blotch (BFB), which is caused by Acidovorax citrulli, is a serious threat to watermelon growers around the world. The present study was conducted to screen effective rhizobacterial isolates against 35 different A. citrulli isolates and determine their efficacy on BFB and growth parameters of watermelon. Two rhizobacterial isolates viz. Paenibacillus polymyxa (SN-22), Sinomonas atrocyanea (NSB-27) showed high inhibitory activity in the preliminary screening and were further evaluated for their effect on BFB and growth parameters of three different watermelon varieties under greenhouse conditions. The greenhouse experiment result revealed that SN-22 and NSB-27 significantly reduced BFB and had significant stimulatory effect on total chlorophyll content, plant height, total fresh weight and total dry weight compared to uninoculated plants across the tested three watermelon varieties. Analysis of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences revealed that strains SN-22 belong to P. polymyxa and NSB-27 to S. atrocyanea with the bootstrap value of 99% and 98%, respectively. The isolates SN-22 and NSB-27 were tested for antagonistic and PGP traits. The result showed that the tested isolates produced siderophore, hydrolytic enzymes (protease and cellulose), chitinase, starch hydrolytic enzymes and they showed phosphate as well as zinc solubilizing capacity. This is the first report of P. polymyxa (SN-22) and S. atrocyanea (NSB-27) as biocontrol-plant growth promoting rhizobacteria on watermelon.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.69-81
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• 2022

This study was performed to screen the efficacy of antagonistic bacterial isolates from various sources against the bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) causing pathogen (Acidovorax citrulli) in cucurbit crops. In addition, plant growth promoting traits of these antagonistic bacterial isolates were characterized. Two thousand seven hundred ninety-four microorganisms were isolated from the collected samples. Molecular identification revealed two A. citrulli out of 2,794 isolates. In vitro antagonistic results showed that, among the 28 antagonistic bacterial isolates, 24 and 14 bacterial isolates exhibited antagonism against HPP-3-3B and HPP-9-4B, respectively. Antagonistic and growth promotion characterization of the antagonistic bacterial isolates were further studied. Results suggested that, 4 antagonistic bacteria commonly showed both antagonism and growth promotion phenotypes. Moreover, 3 isolates possessed growth promoting activities. Overall results from this study suggests that BFB causing bacterial pathogen (A. citrulli) was suppressed in in vitro antagonism assay by antagonistic bacterial isolates. Furthermore, these antagonistic bacterial isolates possessed growth promotion and antagonistic enzyme production ability. Therefore, data from this study can provide useful basic data for the in vivo experiments which ultimately helps to develop the eco-friendly agricultural materials to control fruit rot disease in cucurbit crops in near future.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.188-192
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• 2023

Abiotic and biotic stresses have been a serious threat to crop growth and productivity in the agricultural system. In this study, four strains (HS1, H30-3, KJ40, and BC42), which have biological activities related to disease suppression or alleviation of salinity and drought stresses, were tested for broad-spectrum biocontrol activity against anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum orbiculare, a bacterial fruit blotch caused by Acidovorax citrulli, and Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum in cucumber plants. As a result of test, when the four strains were drenched into the soil, anthracnose in cucumber leaves significantly decrease; strain KJ40 suppressed disease incidence by A. citrulli; strain BC42 significantly reduced bacterial fruit blotch and Fusarium wilt compared to control. Therefore, strain KJ40 could be a biocontrol candidate for controlling anthracnose through induced systemic resistance and the disease caused by A. citrulli as well as alleviating drought stress; strain BC42 has broad-spectrum biocontrol activity against anthracnose, Fusarium wilt, and bacterial fruit blotch.