RoseXPhLORE: NGS-Aided Exploration of Phytopathogenic Bacteria Diversity in the Rose Family for Sustainable Phage-Based Biocontrol Solutions
Viesturs Dēķens
The project aims to assess the diversity of bacterial phytopathogens affecting Rosacea plants in Latvia over three growing seasons while simultaneously isolating, as well as characterizing, their bacteriophages, thus, improving phytopathogenic bacteria surveillance practices and laying the groundwork for locally tailored phage-based biocontrol solution development.
This aim will be reached by implementing activities in three interconnected work packages corresponding to the three objectives set for the project:
To identify and characterize economically relevant bacterial phytopathogens endangering Latvian Rosacea plants and create a comprehensive strain panel encompassing the diversity thereof.
To isolate and characterize a range of diverse bacteriophages capable of infecting and effectively lysing identified phytopathogenic bacterial strains from local Rosaceae-growing orchards.
To promote the adoption of whole genome sequencing for phytopathogen surveillance while enhancing bacterial disease control decision-making in Latvian horticulture.
The proposed project will integrate the latest current knowledge of phytopathology, microbiology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics to achieve the planned objectives. The project will lead to a significant increase in knowledge about the local prevalence of phytopathogenic bacteria (and their accompanying bacteriophages) characteristic of regional Rosacea plants.
