New paper in Microbial Genomics: bacteriophages against citrus canker

Our paper “Characterization of putatively lytic bacteriophages able to infect Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri and identification of novel putative exopolysaccharide depolymerases” is out in Microbial Genomics.

Together with colleagues in Brazil, the US and the UK, we isolated and sequenced 72 bacteriophages that infect Xanthomonas citri, the bacterium that causes Asiatic citrus canker. Almost all of them are closely related, like the bacterial population they infect. Using structure-based annotation (HHsearch and AlphaFold), we found conserved tail-fibre proteins that may be depolymerases, able to break down the bacterium’s xanthan gum capsule. In greenhouse trials, one phage cut canker lesions by 60%. This makes phages a promising, sustainable alternative to copper sprays.

Read the paper: 10.1099/mgen.0.001821