Russian biologists proposed to fight the black leg with the help of bacteriophage viruses that destroy specific types of bacteria, but do not harm potatoes and humans. Results of this study published In the magazine V.
Phage cocktails (mixtures of various bacteriophages) are used in agriculture against plant diseases. With their help, you can reduce losses due to product spoilage. But so far, attempts to protect potatoes from soft rot do not go further than a laboratory test tube and model strains, and such conditions differ from real ones. To solve these problems, it is necessary to clearly define the list of pathogenic bacteria harmful to potatoes. Then - select the phages that handle them best, isolate them in a pure culture, develop and launch a technology for their use in storage conditions. Scientists from the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia conducted research on this topic.
“To use the soft rot phage cocktail on an industrial scale, many questions about bacterial genomics need to be answered. Pectobacterium and viruses that specialize in them, better understand the molecular biological basis of their interactions. You also need to figure out the technical details - the production of the cocktail and the form of its use and obtain permission at the legislative level. Our research will help solve these problems, ”said Alexander Ignatov, Professor of the Agrobiotechnology Department of the RUDN University, Doctor of Biological Sciences.
Scientists from RUDN University, together with colleagues from the PhytoEngineering Research Center, the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Moscow State University, collected affected potato samples from industrial storages to determine the main pathogenic bacteria.
The strains were distinguished using a PCR test and by variations in the 16S rRNA gene sequence. Scientists have found that strains that in appearance belonged to Pectobacterium carotovorum, actually belonged to a newly defined species Pectobacterium versatile... In addition to him, the most common were the strains Pectobacterium brasilense и Pectobacterium polaris, which are often found in the fields of Central and Eastern Europe. And here Pectobacterium atrosepticum and representatives of the genus Dickeythat caused disease outbreaks in the early 50s were not found in the samples. Microbiologists tested 10 bacteriophages on these strains and selected the most effective ones. At the same time, scientists by genomic sequences have identified viruses that will destroy bacteria, and not just infect them, integrate into their genome and go into "sleep mode". The cocktail was tested in an industrial storage of potatoes in the Rogachevo agricultural park. The tubers were treated once a week for six months. As a result, the growth of phytopathogenic bacteria on tubers decreased by 12-XNUMX times.