Instituto de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340025, Chile.
Núcleo de Biotecnología de Curauma, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340025, Chile.
Viruses. 2024 Sep 7;16(9):1430. doi: 10.3390/v16091430.
Bacteriophages have been proposed as biological controllers to protect plants against different bacterial pathogens. In this scenario, one of the main challenges is the low viability of phages in plants and under adverse environmental conditions. This work explores the use of 12 compounds and 14 different formulations to increase the viability of a phage mixture that demonstrated biocontrol capacity against pv. (Psa) in kiwi plants. The results showed that the viability of the phage mixture decreases at 44 °C, at a pH lower than 4, and under UV radiation. However, using excipients such as skim milk, casein, and glutamic acid can prevent the viability loss of the phages under these conditions. Likewise, it was demonstrated that the use of these compounds prolongs the presence of phages in kiwi plants from 48 h to at least 96 h. In addition, it was observed that phages remained stable for seven weeks when stored in powder with skim milk, casein, or sucrose after lyophilization and at 4 °C. Finally, the phages with glutamic acid, sucrose, or skim milk maintained their antimicrobial activity against Psa on kiwi leaves and persisted within kiwi plants when added through roots. This study contributes to overcoming the challenges associated with the use of phages as biological controllers in agriculture.
噬菌体被提议作为生物控制剂来保护植物免受不同的细菌病原体侵害。在这种情况下，主要挑战之一是噬菌体在植物中和不利的环境条件下的存活能力低。本研究探索了使用 12 种化合物和 14 种不同的配方来提高噬菌体混合物的存活率，该混合物对猕猴桃植物中的 pv. （Psa）具有生物防治能力。结果表明，噬菌体混合物的存活率在 44°C、pH 值低于 4 和紫外线辐射下降低。然而，使用脱脂乳、酪蛋白和谷氨酸等赋形剂可以防止噬菌体在这些条件下失去活力。同样，证明了这些化合物的使用可以将噬菌体在猕猴桃植物中的存在时间从 48 小时延长至至少 96 小时。此外，观察到噬菌体在冻干后与脱脂乳、酪蛋白或蔗糖混合在粉末中，并在 4°C 下储存时，可保持稳定达七周。最后，添加含有谷氨酸、蔗糖或脱脂乳的噬菌体保持了对猕猴桃叶片上 Psa 的抗菌活性，并在通过根部添加时在猕猴桃植物内持续存在。本研究有助于克服将噬菌体作为农业中的生物控制剂使用所面临的挑战。
