Review
Plant Sciences
Andreas Peil, Ofere Francis Emeriewen, Awais Khan, Sarah Kostick, Mickael Malnoy
Summary: Malus domestica (apple) is a crucial global fruit crop, facing the threat of fire blight disease. Breeding for fire blight resistance is a challenging task due to high susceptibility of commercial cultivars and the need to use wild genetic sources for resistance. Efforts are being made to develop durable, environmentally friendly solutions for managing this destructive bacterial disease.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Sarah A. Kostick, Soon Li Teh, Kate M. Evans
Summary: Phenotyping resistance/susceptibility to fire blight is challenging due to the complexity of inheritance and insufficient phenotypic information for breeding decisions. Most resistance alleles have been found in wild germplasm, while reduced susceptibility alleles have been identified in breeding parents. Although DNA-informed breeding for fire blight resistance is attractive, there are currently limited trait-predictive DNA tests available.
Article
Plant Sciences
Antoine Bodelot, Erwan Chavonet, Marie Noelle Brisset, Nicolas Dousset, Elisa Ravon, Christelle Heintz, Richard Berthome, Matilda Zaffuto, Marie Kempf, Melanie Foulon, Estelle Marion, Emilie Vergne, Alexandre Degrave
Summary: Lectins, a group of proteins that can bind to glycans, have been found to be overexpressed in apple plants after treatment with the resistance inducer ASM, enhancing their resistance to fire blight disease. However, despite the accumulation of MdAGG10 protein in apple and Arabidopsis plants, they remain susceptible to their respective pathogens. In vitro agglutination of bacteria by MdAGG10 does not inhibit bacterial growth, suggesting the involvement of other plant molecules in the resistance mechanism.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Ina Schlatholter, Giovanni A. L. Broggini, Sebastian Streb, Bruno Studer, Andrea Patocchi
Summary: Cisgenesis was used to introduce fire blight resistance to the apple cultivar 'Gala Galaxy' without affecting other tree-, flower-, or fruit-related traits. A 5-year field trial showed no significant differences between the cisgenic line C44.4.146 and control genotypes in terms of tree-, flower-, or fruit-related traits. However, fruits of C44.4.146 and its wild-type 'Gala Galaxy' were paler in color compared to non-tissue cultured 'Gala Galaxy' fruits.
Article
Plant Sciences
Simone Buehlmann-Schutz, Marius Hodel, Elias Dorfmann, Lukas Vonmetz, Luzia Lussi, Andrea Patocchi
Summary: This study conducted phenotypic and genotypic identification of fire blight resistance in apple using artificial inoculation and molecular markers. The results showed that the major resistance genes FB_MR5 and Fb_E have a significant effect on fire blight resistance, while genotypes carrying FB_F7 exhibited greater variation in resistance levels. No correlation was found between the results of the two phenotyping methods for the tested genotypes, but 11 genotypes showed no significant difference between the results of the two methods. Additionally, flower shedding was identified as an important triggered mechanism for flower resistance to fire blight.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Susan Schropfer, Isabelle Vogt, Giovanni Antonio Lodovico Broggini, Andreas Dahl, Klaus Richter, Magda-Viola Hanke, Henryk Flachowsky, Andreas Peil
Summary: This study identified 211 differentially expressed genes in the response of apple to the bacterial pathogen Erwinia amylovora, with a focus on the activation of heat-shock response genes in the susceptible reaction. The potential roles of genes involved in the formation of flavonoids and terpenoids, ribosome-inactivating enzymes, and transcription factors in resistance to the pathogen were also highlighted.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuna Jung, Ji Hye Jin, Minji Jung, In Sun Hwang, Nguyen Trung Vu, Yoon Kyung Park, Na Hee Kim, Ki-Ho Park, Chang-Sik Oh, Dokyoung Kim
Summary: Fire blight is a plant infection that contaminates edible plants globally and causes socio-economic problems in agricultural and livestock industries. A new fluorogenic probe, B-1, was developed for real-time on-site detection of fire blight bacteria. It exhibited bright emission properties in the presence of the bacteria, allowing for fluorescence imaging and real-time detection from infected host plant tissues. The detection limit for E. amylovora was excellent at 102 CFU/mL. The introduction of a portable UV device further enhances the potential of this diagnostic technology for detecting fire blight in agricultural and livestock industries.
Article
Plant Sciences
Juliette Benejam, Elisa Ravon, Matthieu Gaucher, Marie-Noelle Brisset, Charles-Eric Durel, Laure Perchepied
Summary: The study investigated the potential interaction between genetic and induced resistance in apple against scab and fire blight diseases. They found that ASM was effective in reducing both diseases, and that resistance QTLs and ASM-induced resistance complementarily reduced symptoms by 85% to 100%.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Sang-Guen Kim, Sung-Bin Lee, Su-Jin Jo, Kevin Cho, Jung-Kum Park, Jun Kwon, Sib Sankar Giri, Sang-Wha Kim, Jeong-Woo Kang, Won-Joon Jung, Young-Min Lee, Eunjung Roh, Se-Chang Park
Summary: This study suggests the potential of using a combination of bacteriophages and antibiotics as an effective strategy to control the outbreak of blight disease. The combination showed improved host infectivity coverage and achieved synergistic effects in inhibiting bacterial growth. The phage cocktail demonstrated higher antibacterial activity compared to the antibiotic alone.
Article
Horticulture
Gulshariya Kairova, Nurzhan Daulet, Maxim Solomadin, Nurlan Sandybayev, Shynggys Orkara, Vyacheslav Beloussov, Nazym Kerimbek, Dilyara Gritsenko, Zagipa Sapakhova
Summary: This study conducted phytopathological evaluation and molecular genetic analysis of 59 apple varieties in different regions of Kazakhstan, finding that 26 varieties showed the highest resistance to fire blight. Interestingly, all 59 apple cultivars had identical genotypes for the 10 markers associated with fire blight resistance.
Article
Plant Sciences
Murat Ozturk, Soner Soylu
Summary: The study identified a natural outbreak of bacterial fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora on strawberries in Turkey for the first time. The presence of the pathogen, which is transmitted by bees, could potentially have a significant impact on local strawberry production in the future.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Sarah A. Kostick, Soon Li Teh, John L. Norelli, Stijn Vanderzande, Cameron Peace, Kate M. Evans
Summary: This study utilized a pedigree-based QTL analysis approach to elucidate the genetic basis of resistance/susceptibility to fire blight in germplasm relevant to U.S. apple breeding programs. The QTLs were consistently mapped on chromosomes 6, 7, and 15, explaining about 28% of phenotypic variation, with individuals carrying more reduced-susceptibility alleles showing lower susceptibility.
HORTICULTURE RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Annette Wimmer, Michael Glueck, Wenzi Ckurshumova, Jun Liu, Michael Fefer, Kristjan Plaetzer
Summary: This study aims to demonstrate that photodynamic inactivation can be used to treat plant diseases even if the causative bacteria are resistant to conventional treatment. Different photosensitizers in combination with different culture conditions have varying effects on bacterial inactivation, and PDI based on natural photosensitizers might represent an eco-friendly treatment strategy.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Laurin Muller, Denise C. Muller, Sandrine Kammerecker, Marco Fluri, Lukas Neutsch, Mitja Remus Emsermann, Cosima Pelludat
Summary: This study found that apple flowers are not an iron-limiting environment for the fire blight pathogen E. amylovora, and Desferrioxamine (DFO) is an important competition factor for this pathogen in precolonized flowers.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Quan Zeng, Joanna Pulawska, Jeffrey Schachterle
Summary: This review examines the different infection stages of the fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora, focusing on the early events during the initial infection of flowers and shoot tips. It discusses the production and transfer of inoculum, epiphytic proliferation of the pathogen, entry into the host, and initial proliferation inside the host. Additionally, the review delves into how E. amylovora modulates its virulence expression to induce disease symptoms during these early events.
JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Karl Fent, Michael Schmid, Verena Christen
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2020)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Karl Fent, Michael Schmid, Timm Hettich, Simon Schmid
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2020)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
S. Oso, F. Fuchs, C. Uebermuth, L. Zander, S. Daunaraviciute, D. M. Remus, I Stoetzel, M. Wuest, L. Schreiber, M. N. P. Remus-Emsermann
Summary: The study found that strains not producing biosurfactants showed reduced abilities in leaf colonization and aliphatic compound degradation, indicating the importance of biosurfactants in environmental hydrocarbon degradation by leaf surface-dwelling bacteria.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Rudolf O. Schlechter, Evan J. Kear, Daniela M. Remus, Mitja N. P. Remus-Emsermann
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of constitutively expressed fluorescent proteins to track the growth of individual strains in different liquid media. Fluorescence measurements were found to be highly correlated with optical density measurements and cell counts, providing a more consistent way to assess bacterial growth in pure and mixed cultures. The method allows for high throughput and replication, enabling simultaneous measurement of multiple bacterial strains with high temporal resolution, which is crucial for investigating bacterial interactions such as competition and facilitation.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ilaria Massaiu, Paola Songia, Mattia Chiesa, Vincenza Valerio, Donato Moschetta, Valentina Alfieri, Veronika A. Myasoedova, Michael Schmid, Luca Cassetta, Gualtiero Colombo, Yuri D'Alessandra, Paolo Poggio
Summary: Transcript sequencing is essential in understanding biological processes in diagnostic and clinical medicine. Long-read sequencing technologies, like those offered by Oxford Nanopore Technologies, can overcome limitations of short-read RNA-Seq approaches and provide improved sensitivity for identifying genes and their expression levels, particularly for non-coding genes. The study demonstrated the ability to achieve desired accuracy levels by sequencing a certain number of reads through the ONT MinION platform for human cell RNA studies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Mitja N. P. Remus-Emsermann, David Aicher, Cosima Pelludat, Pascal Gisler, David Drissner
Summary: The study suggests that bacteria in the phyllosphere may play a role in transferring antibiotic resistance genes to human pathogenic bacteria. Results indicate that the short-term presence of a competitive donor is sufficient to fix plasmids in the recipient population, but the spread of self-transmissible plasmids is limited. Understanding plasmid transfer data from this study will be crucial for modeling the environmental spread of antibiotic resistance in agricultural production environments in the future.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alessia Del Piano, Tea Kecman, Michael Schmid, Ruggero Barbieri, Luciano Brocchieri, Silvia Tornaletti, Claudia Firrito, Luca Minati, Paola Bernabo, Ilaria Signoria, Fabio Lauria, Thomas H. Gillingwater, Gabriella Viero, Massimiliano Clamer
Summary: We developed a PCR-free library preparation method called circAID-p-seq for selective 3' phospho-RNA sequencing. By applying it to ribosome profiling, we were able to accurately and quickly sequence phospho-RNA fragments from eukaryotic cells and tissues, and depict ribosome occupancy in transcripts.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Laurin Muller, Denise C. Muller, Sandrine Kammerecker, Marco Fluri, Lukas Neutsch, Mitja Remus Emsermann, Cosima Pelludat
Summary: This study found that apple flowers are not an iron-limiting environment for the fire blight pathogen E. amylovora, and Desferrioxamine (DFO) is an important competition factor for this pathogen in precolonized flowers.
APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Leandra E. Knecht, Nadine Heinrich, Yannick Born, Katja Felder, Cosima Pelludat, Martin J. Loessner, Lars Fieseler
Summary: In this study, the crucial role of bacterial cellulose in the infection of Erwinia amylovora by the podovirus S6 was demonstrated. The cellulose-targeting phage S6 degraded cellulose using its phage-encoded cellulase Gp95, but solely applying cellulose targeting phages was not effective in controlling E. amylovora.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Rudolf O. Schlechter, Evan J. Kear, Michal Bernach, Daniela M. Remus, Mitja N. P. Remus-Emsermann
Summary: Despite limited and unevenly distributed resources, the phyllosphere is heavily colonized by microbial communities. Resource competition drives bacterial competition and coexistence, based on fitness differences and resource overlap. This study found that resource overlap and phylogenetic relationships affect competition outcomes, but the spatial heterogeneity of the leaf mitigates resource competition.
Article
Plant Sciences
David W. Armitage, Morgan E. Carter, Robin A. Choudhury, Mitja N. P. Remus-Emsermann, Cindy E. Morris, Johan H. Leveau, Linda L. Kinkel, Jose Pablo Dundore-Arias
Summary: In this article, we summarize the main takeaways from a symposium and hybrid virtual and in-person participatory discussion focused on the challenges of scale in understanding the ecology and management of phyllosphere microbial communities. We provide an overview of the confounding effects of spatial scale on inference in microbial ecology, the spatial organization of microbial interactions in the phyllosphere, advances and remaining gaps in measuring phyllosphere colonization across scales, and the epidemiology in the phyllosphere. We hope to motivate further discussion and the development and adoption of creative approaches to solving the challenges of scale to enhance fundamental understanding and practical management of the phyllosphere microbiomes.
PHYTOBIOMES JOURNAL
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Florian Gschwend, Andrea Braun-Kiewnick, Franco Widmer, Cosima Pelludat
Summary: The presence of a high abundance of native potential E. amylovora antagonists in the native apple blossom microbiota likely helps counteract the establishment of E. amylovora in low-input orchards, potentially offering a new approach to mitigate fire blight infections without heavy use of synthetic chemicals.
PHYTOBIOMES JOURNAL
(2021)