Phages (also known as bacteriophages) are viruses which can infect and kill bacteria. This means they could potentially be used instead of pesticides to treat bacterial infections. This project is exploring whether phage biocontrol might be feasible for controlling Ralstonia …
By Bryden Fields, Research Associate on the Ralstonia Phage project Bacteriophages (phages) are viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Phages can have very specific host ranges and we can harness this specificity to kill certain bacterial strains whilst leaving other …
Plant seeks phage: Searching for viruses that can protect plants from bacterial disease Read More »
Ralstonia solanacearum is a bacterium which infects the xylem. By cutting off the plant’s water supply it causes wilting and ultimately death. This pathogen can cause disease in a range of plants including potato, tomato, pepper, aubergine and tobacco. Outbreaks …
In the last few months of the Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme our communications lead Sarah McLusky has been working with the projects and graphic designer Thomas Pawley to create summaries of their research and findings. Each summary give some background …
By Joana Vicente and Andrew Aspin As we are approaching the final stages of most of our BPD projects, we are turning our attention to impact, publications, stakeholders’ engagement, and dissemination. Other important aspects of these final stages also involve …
How BPD projects are using and contributing to culture collections Read More »
In this blog Joana Vicente reports from the 12th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP2023) in Lyon, France. From 19 to 25 August 2023 more than 2400 participants from 88 countries (including 550 PhD students) gathered in Lyon, France, for …
This spring we were lucky enough to get additional funding from UKRI to enable some of our researchers to go on placements to different work environments to learn skills and build relationships. We’ll be sharing report from all of the …
Transformation in Barcelona: Sara’s placement report Read More »
As part of the 12th International Congress of Plant Pathology, colleagues from the Ralstonia Phage project are organising a satellite event focused on Ralstonia solanaceraum. Find out more and find out how to register or submit an abstract Ralstonia solanaceraum …
The new year means a new principle investigator for the Ralstonia Phage project. Original lead Ville Friman has returned to his native Finland after 12 years in the UK. He joins the University of Helsinki as Professor of Microbiology. Ville …
In the first of our Fighting Bac workshops our researchers will share promising new strategies for controlling bacterial plant diseases using microbes and microbial products. The workshop will focus particularly on the next steps for translating these findings into real …
Fighting Bac: Making microbes our allies (Stakeholder Workshop) Read More »
This year we coordinated a busy programme of activities for plant health week including a webinar, two Twitter takeovers and the launch of our new Resources web page. These activities were to mark Plant Health Week 2022, coordinated by DEFRA, …
#HelpingKeepPlantsHealthy for Plant Health Week 2022 Read More »
As part of Plant Health Week, this webinar will explore innovative biocontrol methods that could reduce the impact of bacterial plant diseases on our farms, forests and gardens. Conventional antibiotic treatments can damage the environment and are becoming less effective …
Innovative approaches to controlling bacterial plant diseases (webinar) Read More »
We finally did it! After a long wait due to COVID restrictions, on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 March 2022, we finally had our first face-to-face meeting – albeit with a substantial online cohort too. The 41 in-person attendees arrived …
Prof Ian Toth of the James Hutton Institute, project lead for DeS-BL, reports on their recent knowledge exchange meeting.
Phages are viruses which infect and kill bacteria. Increasingly, as with our Ralstonia Phage project, they are being studied as potential biocontrol agents. Phages have very specific host ranges and could be used to selectively target only pathogenic bacteria, leaving …
It’s Plant Health Week 2022 and we are celebrating the benefits of healthy plants. An important part of keeping plants healthy is understanding the relationships between plants and bacteria to help manage bacterial diseases. Plants have a microbiome too Just …
Working together to understand bacterial plant diseases to protect UK farms, forests and gardens. An interdisciplinary research consortium funded by BBSRC, NERC, Defra and the Scottish Government from 2020-2024.
The Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme was a consortium of 9 research projects supported by a Coordination Team. Use the links below to find out about each of the projects.