Bacillus velezensis and Paenibacillus peoriae Strains Effective as Biocontrol Agents against Xanthomonas Bacterial Spot

Gram-negative bacteria belonging to the Xanthomonas genus include plant pathogens representing a major challenge in the field of agriculture for a wide variety of economically important crops, such as tomato, pepper, and lettuce. Due to the massive usage of agrochemicals, Xanthomonas spp. are developing resistance to copper pesticides typically used to control microbial infections. An interesting alternative approach to control bacterial phytopathogens consists of using eco-friendly biocontrol agents, often beneficial microorganisms. Here, following the targeted, broad-spectrum screening of thousands of microorganisms isolated from different environmental locations, we isolated Bacillus velezensis strain 71 and Paenibacillus peoriae strain To99 displaying potent antagonistic activity against Xanthomonas spp. We found that oxydifficidin and polymyxin A secreted by B. velezensis 71 and P. peoriae To99, respectively, are mainly responsible for the anti-Xanthomonas activity. We further evaluated the performance of cell suspensions and cell-free supernatants of these isolates in controlling tomato bacterial spot disease in growth chamber and greenhouse conditions to validate the in vitro results. The overall results demonstrate the potential of treatments based on the secondary metabolites from both isolates and their cells as an alternative to copper-based chemicals to control leaf spot diseases caused by Xanthomonas spp. phytopathogens.