Phage therapy and its application in plant diseases control

Bacteriophage refers to viruses that specifically infect bacteria. Bacteriophages are mainly used in medicine and veterinary medicine and have recently been considered for the control of plant diseases. The use of phages in the biocontrol strategy of plant pathogens is due to their ability to kill bacteria, as well as the observation of phages in the same bacterial host environment, which indicates their ability to survive in the same host environment. Phages have been used as a part of the integrated management of diseases due to their easy and convenient use, the possibility of being combined with other bactericides or alternating use with pesticides, and having a relatively low price. Although there are considerable doubts about the use of bacteriophages as effective biological control agents, the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the concern about the possibility of transferring antibiotic resistance from plant pathogens to human pathogens and the emergence of copper-tolerant strains among plant bacteria have led to a renewed desire to control disease based on bacteriophages in modern agriculture. So far, phage therapy has been successfully used against agents such as bacterial spot of edible mushrooms (Pseudomonas tolasi), bacterial leaf spot of mango beans, soft rot caused by Pectobacterium species, apple and pear blight (Erwinia amylovora), potato scab (Streptomyces scabies), geranium bacterial blight (Xantomonas hortorum pv. Pelargonii), tomato bacterial spot (Xantomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria) have been used. It is true that bacteria can become resistant to phages in a manner similar to that seen in antibiotics, but the advantage of phages over antibiotics for treating pathogens is their ability to mutate and infect new hosts. The major problem of phage-based biological control is the conversion of successful laboratory experiments into effective control methods against the pathogen at the field level. For this purpose, it is necessary to gain a complete understanding of the ecology and the complex host-phage interaction in different plant environments in order to maximize the use of phages as a biocontrol method. In this article, an attempt has been made to review the potential of bacteriophages in the biological control of plant pathogens and introduce its advantages and challenges