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Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Odds)

P-127 - Phage biocontrol impacts plant defence signalling and forces the bacteria to prioritise survival over virulence

Monday, July 14, 2025
13:30 - 15:15  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Management of diseases and emerging diseases

    Presenting Author(s)

  • SE

    Sebastian Erdrich

    postdoctoral research
    Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf
    Dsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    • Author(s)

  • US

    Ulrich Schurr

    Forschungszentrum Jülich
    Jülich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

  • MZ

    Milan Zupunski

    Dr.
    Institute for Cell and Interaction Biology, Heinrich Heine University of Duesseldorf
    Duesseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

  • GG

    Guido Grossmann

    Prof. Dr.
    Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf- ICIB
    Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

  • JF

    Julia Frunzke

    Forschungszentrum Jülich
    Jülich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

  • BA

    Borjana Arsova

    Forschungszentrum Jülich
    Jülich, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

With the world population on the rise, optimizing arable resources and reducing food loss is crucial. Plant pathogenic bacteria which account for 10% of our annual yield losses are gaining resistance against classical control strategies. Bacteriophages as highly specialized bacterial viruses, offer a sustainable and targeted biocontrol solution.

Our research has led to the isolation and characterization of novel phages for the economically relevant plant pathogen Xanthomonas. Among those, we recently isolated is the strictly virulent phage Seregon, which proved to be suitable for biocontrol. However, the influence of phages on plant physiology, particularly during interactions with pathogenic bacteria in planta, remains a significant knowledge gap. Understanding the phage's impact on bacterial infection dynamics and plant defence responses is pivotal for successful application strategies.

Here, we present infection studies in Arabidopsis thaliana with the plant pathogen X. campestris. Phage Seregon, nearly restores plant health to uninfected levels. Meta-transcriptome analysis revealed reduced plant defense activation and suppression of bacterial virulence factors in the presence of the phage.

In conclusion, we show that natural phage diversity can be harnessed for phage-based plant biocontrol. Our findings indicate that Phage application effectively protects A. thaliana against X. campestris, highlighting its potential for sustainable agricultural practices.