Phys.org

by NanJing Agricultural University
Huanglongbing (HLB), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CaLas), is the No. 1 killer of citrus trees worldwide. HLB causes billions of dollars in annual economic losses to the global citrus industry.

At present, no HLB-resistant cultivars and no effective therapeutic agents is available for citrus farmers. Citrus canker disease, caused by Xanthomonas citri pv.citri (Xcc), is another devastating disease in the citrus industry, which can harm almost all citrus cultivars and is currently on the outbreak trend. Breeding disease-resistant varieties is the fundamental way to prevent HLB and citrus canker.

Bacteriophages are the natural enemies of bacteria. They mainly secrete endolysins to the host cell periplasm through the Holin-endolysin lysis system and break the cell wall to kill bacteria. Therefore, endolysin is also considered to be a bacterial suicide gene. Bacteriophages and their lytic genes are a powerful means to control disease by triggering bacterial "suicide" to suppress pathogen growth.

In August 2023, Horticulture Research published a research paper entitled by "An endolysin gene from Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus confers dual resistance to Huanglongbing and citrus canker." The researchers found that an endolysin encoded by the CaLas prophage has dual resistance to Huanglongbing and citrus canker.

Read on: https://phys.org/news/2023-08-bacterial-suicide-gene-citrus-huanglongbing.html#google_vignette