Das Mayukh, Bhowmick Tushar Suvra, Ahern Stephen J, Young Ry, Gonzalez Carlos F
Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America; Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America; Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2015 Jun 24;10(6):e0128902. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0128902. eCollection 2015.
Pierce's Disease (PD) of grapevines, caused by Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (Xf), is a limiting factor in the cultivation of grapevines in the US. There are presently no effective control methods to prevent or treat PD. The therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy of a phage cocktail composed of four virulent (lytic) phages was evaluated for control of PD. Xf levels in grapevines were significantly reduced in therapeutically or prophylactically treated grapevines. PD symptoms ceased to progress one week post-therapeutic treatment and symptoms were not observed in prophylactically treated grapevines. Cocktail phage levels increased in grapevines in the presence of the host. No in planta phage-resistant Xf isolates were obtained. Moreover, Xf mutants selected for phage resistance in vitro did not cause PD symptoms. Our results indicate that phages have great potential for biocontrol of PD and other economically important diseases caused by Xylella.
由木质部难养菌（Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa，Xf）引起的葡萄皮尔斯病（PD）是美国葡萄种植的一个限制因素。目前尚无有效的防治方法来预防或治疗PD。评估了一种由四种烈性（裂解性）噬菌体组成的噬菌体鸡尾酒对PD的治疗和预防效果。经治疗或预防处理的葡萄藤中Xf水平显著降低。治疗后一周，PD症状停止进展，预防处理的葡萄藤未观察到症状。在宿主存在的情况下，葡萄藤中噬菌体鸡尾酒水平增加。未获得植物体内抗噬菌体的Xf分离株。此外，体外选择的抗噬菌体Xf突变体不会引起PD症状。我们的结果表明，噬菌体在生物防治PD和其他由木质部难养菌引起的经济上重要的疾病方面具有巨大潜力。
