Seed coating with phages for sustainable plant biocontrol of plant pathogens and influence of the seed coat mucilage.

ABSTRACT: Pathogens resistant to classical control strategies pose a significant threat to crop yield, with seeds being a major transmission route. Bacteriophages, viruses targeting bacteria, offer an environmentally sustainable biocontrol solution. In this study, we isolated and characterized two novel phages, Athelas and Alfirin, which infect Pseudomonas syringae and Agrobacterium fabrum, respectively, and included the recently published Pfeifenkraut phage infecting Xanthomonas translucens. Using a simple immersion method, phages coated onto seeds successfully lysed bacteria post air-drying. The seed coat mucilage (SCM), a polysaccharide-polymer matrix exuded by seeds, plays a critical role in phage binding. Seeds with removed mucilage formed five to 10 times less lysis zones compared to those wit

SUBMITTER: Erdrich SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11181459 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature