This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Iriarte, F. B.
Right arrow Articles by Jones, J. B.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Iriarte, F. B.
Right arrow Articles by Jones, J. B.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Iriarte, F. B.
Right arrow Articles by Jones, J. B.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1704-1711, Vol. 73, No. 6
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02118-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Factors Affecting Survival of Bacteriophage on Tomato Leaf Surfaces{triangledown}

F. B. Iriarte,1 B. Balogh,1 M. T. Momol,2 L. M. Smith,3 M. Wilson,4 and J. B. Jones1*

Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida-IFAS, Gainesville, Florida,1 NFREC, Plant Pathology Department, University of Florida-IFAS, Quincy, Florida,2 P.O. Box 11624, Stanford, California 94309,3 Department of Biology, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado4

Received 7 September 2006/ Accepted 9 January 2007

The ability of bacteriophage to persist in the phyllosphere for extended periods is limited by many factors, including sunlight irradiation, especially in the UV zone, temperature, desiccation, and exposure to copper bactericides. The effects of these factors on persistence of phage and formulated phage (phage mixed with skim milk) were evaluated. In field studies, copper caused significant phage reduction if applied on the day of phage application but not if applied 4 or 7 days in advance. Sunlight UV was evaluated for detrimental effects on phage survival on tomato foliage in the field. Phage was applied in the early morning, midmorning, early afternoon, and late evening, while UVA plus UVB irradiation and phage populations were monitored. The intensity of UV irradiation positively correlated with phage population decline. The protective formulation reduced the UV effect. In order to demonstrate direct effects of UV, phage suspensions were exposed to UV irradiation and assayed for effectiveness against bacterial spot of tomato. UV significantly reduced phage ability to control bacterial spot. Ambient temperature had a pronounced effect on nonformulated phage but not on formulated phages. The effects of desiccation and fluorescent light illumination on phage were investigated. Desiccation caused a significant but only slight reduction in phage populations after 60 days, whereas fluorescent light eliminated phages within 2 weeks. The protective formulation eliminated the reduction caused by both of these factors. Phage persistence was dramatically affected by UV, while the other factors had less pronounced effects. Formulated phage reduced deleterious effects of the studied environmental factors.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Plant Pathology Department, P.O. Box 110680, University of Florida-IFAS, Gainesville, FL 32611. Phone: (352) 392-3631. Fax: (352) 392-6532. E-mail: jbjones{at}ufl.edu.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 26 January 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2007, p. 1704-1711, Vol. 73, No. 6
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02118-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»