Using phages as a precision tool to control bacterial wilt abundance and virulence in the plant rhizosphere microbiome
4 bacteriophages isolated from natural reservoirs have been used as biocontrol agents against the main plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum (strain UW551). 3-week old susceptible tomato plants (Moneymaker) were inoculated with the bacterium and 24 hours later with the bacteriophage in individual or double treatments (all pairwise combinations). The experiment was performed in a glasshouse at FERA Science (York, UK). Bacterial wilt symptoms were assessed for 21 days post inoculation and the soil was collected at 22dpi by homogenising the whole pot. 16S rRNA was sequenced using the services of Novogene UK and targeting the region V4.