Novel N-acylhomoserine lactone-degrading bacteria isolated from the leaf surface of Solanum tuberosum and their quorum-quenching properties.

We isolated and identified AHL-degrading bacteria from the leaf surface of Solanum tuberosum. The 16 isolates inactivated both short- and long-chain AHLs. Two of these isolates, identified as Microbacterium testaceum, showed putative AHL-lactonase activity. These two strains interrupted quorum-sensing dependent bacterial infection by plant pathogen Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum. M. testaceum strains, which were isolated in this study, might be useful in the biocontrol of plant diseases.