• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.740-747
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• 2014

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) is a very serious disease in rice-growing regions of the world. In spite of their economic importance, there are no effective ways of protecting rice plants from this disease. Bacteriophages infecting Xoo affect the population dynamics of the pathogen and consequently the occurrence of the disease. In this study, we investigated the diversity, host range, and infectivity of Xoo phages, and their use as a bicontrol agent on BLB was tested. Among the 34 phages that were isolated from floodwater in paddy fields, 29 belonged to the Myoviridae family, which suggests that the dominant phage in the ecosystem was Myoviridae. The isolated phages were classified into two groups based on plaque size produced on the lawn of Xoo. In general, there was a negative relationship between plaque size and host range, and interestingly the phages having a narrow host range had low efficiency of infectivity. The deduced protein sequence analysis of htf genes indicated that the gene was not a determinant of host specificity. Although the difference in host range and infectivity depending on morphotype needs to be addressed, the results revealed deeper understanding of the interaction between the phages and Xoo strains in floodwater and damp soil environments. The phage mixtures reduced the occurrence of BLB when they were treated with skim milk. The results indicate that the Xoo phages could be used as an alternative control method to increase the control efficacy and reduce the use of agrochemicals.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.22-25
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• 2007

Biocontrol activity of five strains of selected rhizo-bacteria were tested in tomato against bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. After root bacterization the plants were grown in a perlite-hydroponic system. Upon challenge inoculation with the pathogen, all of the rhizobacterial strains efficiently suppressed the bacterial wilt in tomato in various rates, at maximum by the strain, Bacillus vallismortis strain EXTN-1. While the percent of infected plants in the non-bacterized control plants were 95%, it was only 65% in plants pre-treated with EXTN-1. It was also demonstrated that the movement of R. solanacearum within the stem was significantly hampered when the plants were root bacterized. As EXTN-1 has no antagonistic properties against R. solanacearum, the bacterial wilt was probably suppressed by a mechanism other than antibiosis. Previously, the strain had been proven to produce an efficient elicitor for inducing systemic resistance in many crops. As the present study confirmed that EXTN-1 has the ability for reducing the pathogen spread in tomato, the strain could be effectively used as a potential biocontrol agent against bacterial wilt.