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Antibacterial, anti-biofilm, and anti-virulence potential of tea tree oil against leaf blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae instigates disease suppression

  • Bacterial and Fungal Pathogenesis - Research Paper
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Brazilian Journal of Microbiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo), causes major annual economic losses around the world. Inorganic copper compounds and antibiotics are conventionally used to control BLB disease. They often cause environmental pollution, contributing to adverse effects on human health. Therefore, research is now leading to the search for alternative control methods. Tea tree oil (TTO) is obtained from a traditional medicinal plant, Melaleuca alternifolia, with antibacterial properties. In this study, we found that TTO showed antibacterial activity against Xoo with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 18 mg/ml. These antagonistic activities were not limited only to planktonic cells, as further studies have shown that TTO effectively eradicated sessile cells of Xoo in both initial and mature biofilms. Furthermore, it was also observed that TTO reduced various key virulence properties of Xoo, such as swimming, swarming motility, and the production of extracellular polymeric substances, xanthomonadin, and exoenzymes. TTO triggered ROS generation with cell membrane damage as an antibacterial mode of action against Xoo. The in silico study revealed that 1,8-cineole of TTO was effectively bound to two essential proteins, phosphoglucomutase and peptide deformylase, responsible for the synthesis of EPS and bacterial survival, respectively. These antibacterial and anti-virulence activities of TTO against Xoo were further confirmed by an ex vivo virulence assay where TTO significantly reduced the lesion length caused by Xoo on rice leaves. All these data concluded that TTO could be a safe, environment-friendly alternative approach for the comprehensive management of BLB disease.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

  • Tea tree oil (TTO) is effective against planktonic and sessile forms of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo).

  • TTO shows antimotility activity and reduces EPS, xanthomonadin, and virulent exoenzyme production.

  • TTO damages the cell membrane and induces oxidative stresses as its mode of antibacterial action.

  • 1,8-Cineole was found to be a potent compound, as it binds to peptide deformylase (PDF) and phosphohexose mutase (PHM).

  • In the ex vivo study, TTO also reduces the virulence properties of Xoo.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Chancellor, Techno India University, West Bengal for providing the necessary infrastructure and laboratory facilities. The authors are grateful to Dr. Bishun Deo Prasad (Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bihar, India) for providing the Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) strain. The authors are also thankful to Mrs. Sheolee Ghosh Chakraborty for supporting CLSM and Dr. Ritesh Tiwari for supporting flow cytometry facilities at Centre for Research in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CRNN), University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal.

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  1. Department of Microbiology, Techno India University, West Bengal EM-4 Sector V, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700091, India

    Kumari Vishakha, Shatabdi Das, Sudip Kumar Das, Satarupa Banerjee & Arnab Ganguli

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Contributions

AG and KV designed the experiments; KV, SD, and SKD performed the experiments; AG, KV, and SD analyzed the data; AG and KV wrote the drafts of the article; AG supervised the manuscript. All authors revised and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arnab Ganguli.

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Vishakha, K., Das, S., Das, S.K. et al. Antibacterial, anti-biofilm, and anti-virulence potential of tea tree oil against leaf blight pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae instigates disease suppression. Braz J Microbiol 53, 19–32 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-021-00657-2

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