Origin and Evolution of Bacteriophages Infecting : Horizontal Transfer Assists Adaptation to New Niches.

Black leg and soft rot are devastating diseases causing up to 50% loss of potential potato yield. The search for, and characterization of, bacterial viruses (bacteriophages) suitable for the control of these diseases is currently a sought-after task for agricultural microbiology. Isolated lytic bacteriophages Q19, PP47 and PP81 possess a similar broad host range but differ in their genomic properties.

Morphologically Different Bacteriophages PP99 and PP101: Deacetylation of O-Polysaccharide by the Tail Spike Protein of Phage PP99 Accompanies the Infection.

Soft rot caused by numerous species of and is a serious threat to the world production of potatoes. The application of bacteriophages to combat bacterial infections in medicine, agriculture, and the food industry requires the selection of comprehensively studied lytic phages and the knowledge of their infection mechanism for more rational composition of therapeutic cocktails. We present the study of two bacteriophages, infective for the strain F152.

Host Specificity of the Bacteriophage PP35 Is Directed by a Tail Spike Interaction With Bacterial -Antigen, Enabling the Infection of Alternative Non-pathogenic Bacterial Host.

is a recently emerged virulent bacterial potato pathogen that poses a major threat to world agriculture. Because of increasing antibiotic resistance and growing limitations in antibiotic use, alternative antibacterials such as bacteriophages are being developed. bacteriophages recently re-ranked as a separate family, such as phage PP35 described in this work, are the attractive candidates for this bacterial biocontrol.

Draft Genome Sequence of Pectobacterium atrosepticum PB72 and Complete Genome Sequence of the Specific Bacteriophage PP90.

We present the draft genome sequence of strain PB72 infecting potatoes in Russia. PB72 is similar to the previously reported strain 21A. Considering potential biocontrol of this pathogen, an infectious bacteriophage was isolated and characterized.

Draft Genome Sequences of New Genomospecies " Pectobacterium maceratum" Strains, Which Cause Soft Rot in Plants.

Investigation of collections of phytopathogenic bacteria has revealed some strains distinct from known spp. We report here the draft genome sequences of five such strains, isolated during the period of 1947 to 2012. Based on comparative genomics, we propose a new candidate genomospecies of the genus , " Pectobacterium maceratum.

Genomic characteristics of vB_PpaP_PP74, a T7-like Autographivirinae bacteriophage infecting a potato pathogen of the newly proposed species Pectobacterium parmentieri.

Bacteriophage vB_PpaP_PP74 (PP74) is a novel virulent phage that infects members of the species Pectobacterium parmentieri, a newly established species of soft-rot-causing bacteria in the family Pectobacteriaceae, derived from potato-specific Pectobacterium wasabiae. vB_PpaP_PP74 was identified as a member of the family Podoviridae by transmission electron microscopy. The phage has a 39,790-bp dsDNA genome containing 50 open reading frames (ORFs).