Biological and Molecular Characterization of a Jumbo Bacteriophage Infecting Plant Pathogenic Species Complex Strains.

A jumbo phage infecting species complex strains, designated RsoM2USA, was isolated from soil of a tomato field in Florida, United States, and belongs to the family . The phage has a long latent period of 270 min and completed its infection cycle in 360 min with a burst size of approximately 32 particles per cell. With a genome size of 343,806 bp, phage RsoM2USA is the largest -infecting phage sequenced and reported to date.

Molecular and Biological Characterization of Ralstonia Phage RsoM1USA, a New Species of , Isolated in the United States.

The first -infecting bacteriophage from soil of the United States, designated RsoM1USA, was isolated from a tomato field in Florida. Electron microscopy revealed that phage RsoM1USA is member of the genus in the family with an icosahedral head of about 66 nm in diameter, a contractile tail of about 152 nm in length, and a long "neck." Phage RsoM1USA infected 12 of the 30 tested species complex strains collected worldwide in each of the three species: , , and .

Host range and molecular characterization of a lytic Pradovirus-like Ralstonia phage RsoP1IDN isolated from Indonesia.

A lytic Ralstonia solanacearum-infecting phage designated Ralstonia phage RsoP1IDN was isolated from soil in Indonesia. The phage has a linear double-stranded DNA genome of 41,135 bp with 413-bp terminal repeats, and contains 41 annotated open reading frames. The phage is most closely related to Ralstonia phage RSB1, but different from RSB1 mainly in containing a putative HNH homing endonuclease and having a narrower host range.

Sequencing, genome analysis and host range of a novel Ralstonia phage, RsoP1EGY, isolated in Egypt.

A novel Ralstonia phage was isolated from soil in Egypt. It was designated Ralstonia phage RsoP1EGY using our phage identifier naming approach to reflect the phage's bacterial host species, characteristics and origin. When tested, this phage specifically infected only race 3 biovar 2 phylotype IIB sequevar 1, and not non-race 3 biovar 2 strains of Ralstonia solanacearum.

The involvement of the PilQ secretin of type IV pili in phage infection in Ralstonia solanacearum.

PilQ is a member of the secretin family of outer membrane proteins and specifically involved in type IV secretion. Here we report the effects of pilQ mutation in Ralstonia solanacearum on the host physiology including susceptibility to several phage types (Inoviridae, Podoviridae and Myoviridae). With three lines of cells, namely wild type, ΔpilQ and pilQ-complemented cells, the cell surface proteins, twitching motility and sensitivity to phages were compared.

Utilization of Filamentous Phage ϕRSM3 to Control Bacterial Wilt Caused by Ralstonia solanacearum.

The wide host range of Ralstonia solanacearum, causal agent of bacterial wilt, and its ability to survive for long periods in the environment restrict the effectiveness of cultural and chemical control measures. The use of phages for disease control is a fast-expanding trend of plant protection with great potential to replace chemical measures. The filamentous phage ϕRSM3 that infects R.

Loss of virulence of the phytopathogen Ralstonia solanacearum through infection by φRSM filamentous phages.

φRSM1 and φRSM3 (φRSM phages) are filamentous phages (inoviruses) that infect Ralstonia solanacearum, the causative agent of bacterial wilt. Infection by φRSM phages causes several cultural and physiological changes to host cells, especially loss of virulence. In this study, we characterized changes related to the virulence in φRSM3-infected cells, including (i) reduced twitching motility and reduced amounts of type IV pili (Tfp), (ii) lower levels of β-1,4-endoglucanase (Egl) activity and extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) production, and (iii) reduced expression of certain genes (egl, pehC, phcA, phcB, pilT, and hrpB).

The filamentous phage ϕRSS1 enhances virulence of phytopathogenic Ralstonia solanacearum on tomato.

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causative agent of bacterial wilt in many important crops. ϕRSS1 is a filamentous phage that infects R. solanacearum strains.