Nieuwe aanpak voor bestrijden van bacteriële plantenziekten veroorzakers in diverse gewassen

Development of hairy roots symptoms in greenhouse vegetable crops, caused by the rhizogenic bacterium Rhizobium rhizogenes, poses a challenge during cultivation. There are currently few options to combat this disease except for extensive hygiene measures. Additional measures are needed to ensure that the disease does not develop in the crop. One of these measures might be disrupting communication between individual bacterial cells (quorum sensing) so that the plant does not get infected. This is possible, for example, by using other micro-organisms that breakdown signal molecules, acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs), of pathogenic bacteria. In this project, AHL-degrading microorganisms were isolated from the tomato endosphere and rhizosphere. Greenhouse experiments show that these micro-organisms are able to protect tomatoes against the development of hairy roots symptoms during cultivation in the greenhouse.