Enzymatic quorum quenching alters the phyllosphere microbiome and suppresses a bacterial-induced plant disease.
Zhang Q, Jacobson R, Nelson M, Bergonzi C, Sadowsky MJ
Plant Signaling
Corn fields near you may soon be treated with enzyme sprays instead of chemical pesticides — a shift that protects the living microbial skin of crop leaves rather than scorching it.
Bacteria on plant leaves talk to each other using chemical signals, and some pathogens use this chatter to launch coordinated attacks. Scientists found an enzyme that eavesdrops on and breaks down those signals, essentially scrambling the pathogen's ability to organize. When they sprayed this enzyme on corn plants infected with a serious wilting disease, the plants stayed healthier and their leaf communities looked more like those of uninfected plants.
Key Findings
Infection with Goss's wilt significantly shifted the composition of the corn leaf microbial community, while enzymatic quorum quenching treatment substantially restored it toward an uninfected state.
qPCR analysis showed a small but statistically significant reduction in pathogen abundance on leaf surfaces following lactonase treatment.
A formulated spray of the engineered SsoPox lactonase reduced disease severity in the Goss's wilt infection model, providing proof-of-concept for field application.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers developed an enzyme spray that disrupts bacterial communication in corn leaves, reducing a destructive disease called Goss's wilt while helping the leaf's natural microbial community stay balanced.
Abstract Preview
Bacterial plant pathogens cause hundreds of millions of dollars in annual crop losses in the United States alone, further stressing an already strained global food supply. Numerous bacteria in the ...
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