Potential of a newly isolated lytic bacteriophage to control Pseudomonas coronafaciens pv. garcae in coffee plants: molecular characterization with in vitro and ex vivo experiments

Mota, Luan C.; Silva, Erica C.; Quinde, Carlos A.; Cieza, Basilio; Basu, Aakash; Rodrigues, Lucas M.R.; Vila, Marta M.D.C.; Balcão, Victor M.

Abstract

Traditionally, control of coffee plant bacterial halo blight (BHB) caused by the phytopathogen Pseudomonas coronafaciens pv. garcae (Pcg) involves frequent spraying of coffee plantations with non-environmentally friendly and potentially bacterial resistance-promoting copper products or with kasugamycin hydrochloride. In this study we report a leap forward in the quest for a new ecofriendly approach, characterizing (both physicochemically and biologically) and testing both in vitro and ex vivo a new lytic phage for Pcg. An in-depth molecular (genomic and DNA structural features) characterization of the phage was also undertaken. Phage PcgS01F belongs to the class Caudoviricetes, Drexlerviridae family and genus Guelphvirus, and presents a siphovirus-like morphotype. Phage PcgS01F showed a latency period of 40min and a burst size of 46 PFU/host cell, allowing to conclude that it replicates well in Pcg IBSBF-158. At Multiplicity Of Infection (MOI, or the ratio of phage to bacteria) 1000, the performance of phage PcgS01F was much better than at MOI 10, promoting increasing bacterial reductions until the end of the in vitro inactivation assays, stabilizing at a significant 82% bacterial load reduction. Phage PcgS01F infected and killed Pcg cells ex vivo in coffee plant leaves artificially contaminated, with a maximum of Pcg inactivation of 7.66log CFU/mL at MOI 1000 after 36h of incubation. This study provides evidence that the isolated phage is a promising candidate against the causative agent of BHB in coffee plants.

Citation

Mota, L. C., Silva, E. C., Quinde, C. A., Cieza, B., Basu, A., Rodrigues, L. M., Vila, M. M., & Balcão, V. M. (2025). Potential of a newly isolated lytic bacteriophage to control Pseudomonas coronafaciens pv. garcae in coffee plants: molecular characterization with in vitro and ex vivo experiments. Enzyme and Microbial Technology, 184, Article 110573. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enzmictec.2024.110573

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 13, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Dec 18, 2024
• Publication Date: 2025-03
• Deposit Date: Jan 15, 2025
• Journal: Enzyme and Microbial Technology
• Print ISSN: 0141-0229
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-0909
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 184
• Article Number: 110573
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enzmictec.2024.110573
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3229388