Induction and Resuscitation of the Viable but Non-culturable (VBNC) State in Acidovorax citrulli , the Causal Agent of Bacterial Fruit Blotch of Cucurbitaceous Crops

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology 2019-05, Vol.10, p.1081-1081
• Main Authors: Kan, Yumin, Jiang, Na, Xu, Xin, Lyu, Qingyang, Gopalakrishnan, Vinoj, Walcott, Ronald, Burdman, Saul, Li, Jianqiang, Luo, Laixin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acidovorax citrulli; copper sulfate; induction; Microbiology; pathogenicity; resuscitation; viable but non-culturable
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.01081

is a gram-negative bacterium that infects a wide range of cucurbits causing bacterial fruit blotch (BFB) disease. Copper-based compounds are the most widely-used chemicals for managing BFB and other bacterial diseases in the field. Many bacteria can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state in response to stress, including exposure to copper, and recover the culturability when favorable conditions return. The present study demonstrates that strain AAC00-1 is able to enter into the VBNC state by treatment with different concentrations of copper sulfate. It took 3 h, 5 and 15 days for all viable cells to lose culturability upon exposure to copper sulfate concentrations of 50, 10, and 5 μM, respectively. The VBNC cells regained culturability when the Cu ions were removed by chelation with EDTA or by transfer of cells to LB broth, a cell-free supernatant from a suspension of AAC00-1, oligotrophic media amended with casein hydrolysate or watermelon seedling juice. We also found that the VBNC cells induced by Cu were unable to colonize or infect watermelon seedlings directly, but the resuscitated cells recovered full virulence equivalent to untreated bacterial cells in the log phase. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the VBNC state in and the factors that facilitate resuscitation and restoration of pathogenicity.