Antimicrobial Peptides for Fire Blight Control

Fire blight, caused by the Gram negative bacterium Erwinia amylovora, is an economically devastating disease of pome fruit trees affecting North America, Europe, New Zealand and several Eastern Mediterranean countries (1, 2). Currently used chemical control options, except streptomycin, do not provide satisfactory results in serious outbreaks. The development and spread of streptomycin resistant strains of E. amylovora in countries like New Zealand, North America and Israel make it necessary to develop novel compounds, possibly having different biological targets, to control this disease. Antimicrobial peptides are attractive candidates as alternatives to conventional antibiotics, since they have less chance of resistance development and exhibit novel mechanism of action (3). Research from various laboratories around the world during the past two decades has identified several naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides and their synthetic analogues with potential for fire blight control. Even though these molecules are yet to find entry into the commercial sector for chemical control of fire blight, there is ample evidence of their potential to provide the necessary and desired alternative to antibiotics for fire blight control.