The Causative Agent of Soft Rot in Plants, the Phytopathogenic Bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum: A Brief Description and an Overview of Methods to Control It

This review presents information obtained over the past 10 years on the methods to control the widespread worldwide phytopathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum (Pcc). This bacterium is among the ten most dangerous phytopathogens; it affects a wide range of cultivated plants: vegetables, ornamental and medicinal crops, both during vegetation and during the storage of fruits. Symptoms of Pcc damage include the wilting of plants, blackening of vessels on leaves, stems and petioles. At the flowering stage, the stem core gradually wilts and, starting from the root, the stem breaks and the plant dies. Pcc is a rod-shaped, non-capsule and endospore-forming facultative anaerobic Gram-negative bacterium with peritrichous flagellation. Pcc synthesizes bacteriocins—carocins. The main virulence factors of Pcc are the synthesis of N-acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) and plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) (pectinases, polygalacturonases, cellulases, and proteases). Diagnostic methods for this phytopathogen include polymerase chain reaction (PCR), loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), multilocus genotyping of strain-specific genes and detection of unique volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The main methods to control this microorganism include the use of various chemicals (acids, phenols, esters, salts, gases), plant extracts (from grasses, shrubs, trees, and algae), antagonistic bacteria (Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Streptomyces, and lactic acid bacteria), viruses (including a mixture of bacteriophages), and nanomaterials based on metals and chitosan.