Biofilm-Forming Ability of Phytopathogenic Bacteria: A Review of its Involvement in Plant Stress

CAREZZANO, MARÍA EVANGELINA; PALETTI ROVEY, MARÍA FERNANDA; CAPPELLARI, LORENA DEL ROSARIO; GALLARATO, LUCAS ANTONIO; BOGINO, PABLO; OLIVA, MARÍA DE LAS MERCEDES; GIORDANO, WALTER

Plants

MDPI

Año: 2023 vol. 12

Abstract: Phytopathogenic bacteria not only affect crop yield and quality but also the environment.Understanding the mechanisms involved in their survival is essential to develop new strategies tocontrol plant disease. One such mechanism is the formation of biofilms; i.e., microbial communitieswithin a three-dimensional structure that offers adaptive advantages, such as protection againstunfavorable environmental conditions. Biofilm-producing phytopathogenic bacteria are difficult tomanage. They colonize the intercellular spaces and the vascular system of the host plants and cause awide range of symptoms such as necrosis, wilting, leaf spots, blight, soft rot, and hyperplasia. Thisreview summarizes up-to-date information about saline and drought stress in plants (abiotic stress)and then goes on to focus on the biotic stress produced by biofilm-forming phytopathogenic bacteria,which are responsible for serious disease in many crops. Their characteristics, pathogenesis, virulencefactors, systems of cellular communication, and the molecules implicated in the regulation of theseprocesses are all covered.