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Identification of Beneficial Bacterial Strains for Tomato Growth Promotion and Biocontrol of Bacterial Canker Caused by Clavibacter michiganensis

Preprint Created on 04 Jun 2026 bioRxiv

Bacterial canker of tomato, caused by Clavibacter michiganensis (Cm), remains difficult to control due to lack of effective management options. In this study, a collection of over 500 bacterial isolates was screened in vitro for antagonistic activity against Cm and plant growth?promoting (PGP) traits. Based on these results, 32 candidates were evaluated in planta, leading to the identification of three highly effective strains: Pantoea agglomerans SO16PY and two Pseudomonas marginalis sensu lato strains, IRDA16 and SO16PC, which consistently enhanced tomato vegetative growth. Notably, P. agglomerans SO16PY delayed disease onset in Cm-inoculated plants by up to 7 days and significantly reduced wilting severity, lowering the disease severity score from 85% to 45%. Strains IRDA16 and SO16PC also restricted disease development, reducing severity scores to 67.5% and 57.5%, respectively. Whole-genome sequencing and comparative genomics revealed that strains IRDA16 and SO16PC form a distinct, specialized rhizosphere lineage within the Pseudomonas marginalis group, exhibiting average nucleotide identity (ANI [~] 96%) and digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH [~] 69.5%) values near species delineation thresholds. Genome mining identified diverse biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) encoding non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), the lipopeptide viscosin, and terpenes, which likely drive the biostimulant and antagonistic traits of this novel Pseudomonas lineage. Together, these findings characterize promising bacterial candidates with dual biostimulant and biocontrol capacities while uncovering a genomically distinct Pseudomonas lineage optimized for beneficial plant?microbe interactions in sustainable agriculture.

Sedighian, N., Groleau, M.-C., Deziel, E.

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