Table 1.
Summary of bacteriophage biocontrol experiments which have been conducted since the year 2000 to the present.
| Pathogen | Host | Disease | Information | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum, Pectobacterium wasabiae, Dickeya solani |
Potato | Soft rot | Bioassays with phage ΦPD10.3 and ΦPD23.1 could reduce severity of soft rot of tubers by 80% on potato slices and 95% with whole tubers from a mixed pathogen infection. | Czajkowski et al., 2015 |
| Dickeya solani | Potato | Soft rot/Blackleg | Phage vB_DsoM_LIMEstone1 and vB_DsoM_LIMEstone2 reduced soft rot of inoculated tubers in bioassays and in field trials which produced a potato crop with higher yields. | Adriaenssens et al., 2012 |
| Dickeya solani | Potato | Soft rot | Bioassays with phage ΦD1, ΦD2, ΦD3, ΦD4, ΦD5, ΦD7, ΦD9, ΦD10, ΦD11 could reduce incidence of soft rot by up to 30–70% on co-inoculated potato slices with pathogen and phage. | Czajkowski et al., 2014 |
| Streptomyces scabies | Potato | Common scab | Seed tubers treated with phage ΦAS1 resulted in producing tuber progeny with reduced levels of surface lesion of scab (1.2%) compared with tubers harvested from non -treated seed tubers (23%). | McKenna et al., 2001 |
| Ralstonia solanacearum | Tomato | Bacterial wilt | Tomato plants treated with phage ΦRSL1 showed no symptoms of bacterial wilt during the experimental period; whereas all untreated plants showed wilting 18 days post infection. | Fujiwara et al., 2011 |
| Ralstonia solanacearum | Tomato | Bacteria wilt | Simultaneous treatment of phage PE204 with R. solanacearum of the rhizosphere of tomato completely inhibited bacterial wilt. However, pre-treatment with phage before the inoculation of pathogen was not effective with control of bacterial wilt, whereas post treatment of PE204 delayed disease development. | Bae et al., 2012 |
| Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria | Tomato | Bacterial spot | Greenhouse experiments with formulated phage cocktails could reduce disease severity with formulated phage cocktails providing better protection in comparison to unformulated. A similar effect was found in three consecutive field trials. | Balogh et al., 2003 |
| Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria | Tomato | Bacterial spot | In field experiments phage treatment was comparable to disease control with copper-mancozeb. Combination of phage and plant activator (ASM) resulted in enhanced control. | Obradovic et al., 2004 |
| Xylella fastidiosa | Grapevines | Pierce’s Disease | X. fastidiosa levels in grapevines were significantly reduced on pre and post inoculation of a four phage (Sano, Salvo, Prado and Paz) cocktail. Pierce disease symptoms could be stopped using phage treatment post infection as well as applying phage prophylactically to grapevines. | Das et al., 2015 |
| Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. allii | Onion | Xanthomonas leaf blight of onion | Field trial showed that weekly and biweekly applications of phage could reduce disease severity, a result which was comparable to treatments of weekly applications of copper-mancozeb. | Lang et al., 2007 |
| Pectobacterium carotovorum ssp. carotovorum | Lettuce | Soft rot | Green house trials showed that phage PP1 could significantly reduce disease development on lettuce plants. | Lim et al., 2013 |
| Streptomyces scabies | Radish | Common scab | Phages Stsc1 and Stsc3 could prevent disease development by treating radish seedlings. Non-treated radishes had 30% less weight than negative control, with phage treated radishes having masses similar to negative control. | Goyer, 2005 |
| Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri | Grapefruit | Asiatic citrus canker | Five greenhouse experiments utilizing phage treatment could reduce disease severity by 59%. However, using a skim milk formulation of phage did not have increased disease control. Phage treatment was also capable of reducing disease occurrence in a citrus nursery. Control was less effective than copper-mancozeb. Combination did not give increased disease control. | Balogh et al., 2008 |
| Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citrumelo | Orange | Citrus bacterial spot | Phage treatments reduced citrus spot occurrence by 35 and 48% in two trials in commercial citrus nursery. Control was equal or less effective than copper-mancozeb. Combination did not give increased disease control | Balogh et al., 2008 |
| Pseudomonas syringae pv. porri | Leek | Bacterial blight | Specific bio-assays demonstrated the in planta efficacy of phages vB_PsyM_KIL1, vB_PsyM_KIL2, vB_PsyM_KIL3, and vB_PsyM_KIL3b. However, phage cocktail of six phages (vB_PsyM_KIL1, vB_PsyM_KIL2, vB_PsyM_KIL3, vB_PsyM_KIL4, and vB_PsyM_KIL5 and vB_PsyM_KIL3b), were tested with two parallel field trial experiments in three locations which showed variable results. In one trial, symptom development was attenuated. | Rombouts et al., 2016 |
| Pseudomonas tolaasii | Mushrooms | Brown blotch Disease | Surface of mushrooms were inoculated with pathogen. The formation of blotches was completely blocked by co-incubation of phages with pathogen. | Kim et al., 2011 |
| Erwinia amylovora | Pear, apple trees | Fire blight | Phages ΦEa1337-26 and ΦEa 2345 reduced infection of detached pear tree blossoms by 84 and 96%, respectively, with Pantoea agglomerans as a carrier. Also, infection of potted apple tree blossoms could be reduced by 54% with phage ΦEa1337-26 and P. agglomerans. Control was comparable to streptomycin. | Boulé et al., 2011 |