Viruses (2021) 13 (10 - 2083)

Gabriele Martino, Dominique Holtappels, Marta Vallino, Marco Chiapello, Massimo Turina, Rob Lavigne, Jeroen Wagemans and Marina Ciuffo (2021)
Molecular characterization and taxonomic assignment of three phage isolates from a collection infecting Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae and P. syringae pv. phaseolicola from northern Italy
Viruses 13 (10 - 2083)
Abstract: Bacterial kiwifruit vine disease (Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, Psa) and halo blight of bean (P. syringae pv. phaseolicola, Pph) are routinely treated with copper, leading to environmental pollution and bacterial copper resistance. An alternative sustainable control method could be based on bacteriophages, as phage biocontrol offers high specificity and does not result in the spread of toxic residues into the environment or the food chain. In this research, specific phages suitable for phage-based biocontrol strategies effective against Psa and Pph were isolated and characterized. In total, sixteen lytic Pph phage isolates and seven lytic Psa phage isolates were isolated from soil in Piedmont and Veneto in northern Italy. Genome characterization of fifteen selected phages revealed that the isolated Pph phages were highly similar and could be considered as isolates of a novel species, whereas the isolated Psa phages grouped into four distinct clades, two of which represent putative novel species. No lysogeny-, virulence- or toxin-related genes were found in four phages, making them suitable for potential biocontrol purposes. A partial biological characterization including a host range analysis was performed on a representative subset of these isolates. This analysis was a prerequisite to assess their efficacy in greenhouse and in field trials, using different delivery strategies.
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Database assignments for author(s): Massimo Turina

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola	Beans (Phaseolus)	Italy
	Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae	Kiwi (Actinidia)	Italy