Method for treatment and control of plant disease

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10499651-B2
Application number	US-201615174589-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 6, 2016
Priority date	Oct 19, 2012
Publication date	Dec 10, 2019
Grant date	Dec 10, 2019

Abstract

Methods and compositions are provided for preventing or reducing symptoms or disease associated with Xylella fastidiosa or Xanthomonas axonopodis in a plant. The invention provides novel bacteriophages virulent to Xylella fastidiosa or Xanthomonas axonopodis, including XfaMija and XfaMijo, and further provides methods for treating or preventing Pierce's Disease or Citrus Canker in plants.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of preventing or reducing symptoms or disease associated with Xylella fastidiosa in a plant, comprising contacting said plant with particles of at least one virulent bacteriophage, wherein Xylella fastidiosa and/or Xanthomonas axonopodis are hosts of the bacteriophage, wherein the bacteriophage belongs to the Myoviridae family, and wherein the bacteriophage displays the following characteristics:
(a) the bacteriophage is capable of lysing said Xylella fastidiosa and/or Xanthomonas axonopodis bacteria;
(b) the bacteriophage infects a cell by adsorption to a Type IV pilus;
(c) the bacteriophage comprises a contractile tail with a capsid size ranging from 85 nm-95 nm in diameter;
(d) the genomic size of the bacteriophage is about 190,000 bp to 230,000 bp; and
(e) the bacteriophage prevents or reduces symptoms associated with Pierce's Disease in a plant or plants.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein contacting comprises introducing the bacteriophage particles into the plant.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plant is selected from the group consisting of a grapevine plant, a citrus plant, almond, coffee, alfalfa, oleander , oak, sweetgum, redbud, elm, peach, apricot, plum, blackberry, mulberry, olive, and Chitalpa tashkentensis.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the bacteriophages are introduced into the plant by injection, by an insect vector, via the root system, by spray, by mist, or by dust on the plant.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the insect vector is a glassy winged sharpshooter.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the number of said bacteriophage to be introduced into said plant is from 1 to 10 12 PFU/ml.

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein said bacteriophage virulent to Xylella fastidiosa and Xanthomonas axonopodis species are introduced simultaneously or sequentially to the plant by a combination of two, three, four, five, or six virulent bacteriophage strains.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein at least one of the virulent bacteriophage strains introduced simultaneously or sequentially to the plant is selected from Siphoviridae or Podoviridae bacteriophage.

9. A method of preventing or reducing symptoms or disease associated with Xylella fastidiosa in a plant, comprising contacting said plant with particles of at least one virulent bacteriophage, wherein Xylella fastidiosa and/or Xanthomonas axonopodis are hosts of the bacteriophage, wherein the bacteriophage have been deposited under ATCC Accession Numbers ATCC PTA-122743 and ATCC PTA-122742.

Assignees

• Texas A & M Univ Sys

Inventors

• Gonzalez Carlos F
• Ahern Stephen J
• Das Mayukh
• Young Iii Ryland F
• Bhowmick Tushar Suvra

Classifications

• C12N2795/10121

  Viruses as such, e.g. new isolates, mutants or their genomic sequences · CPC title

• C12N2795/10321

  Viruses as such, e.g. new isolates, mutants or their genomic sequences · CPC title

• C12N2795/10331

  Uses of virus other than therapeutic or vaccine, e.g. disinfectant · CPC title

• C12N15/8281

  for bacterial resistance · CPC title

• C12N2795/10131

  Uses of virus other than therapeutic or vaccine, e.g. disinfectant · CPC title