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Dr. Alex Fulano
Nanjing Agricultural University, China and University of Nairobi, Kenya

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0 IPM
0 Microbiology
0 Molecular Biology
0 Biopesticides
0 Phytosanitary

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Review
Published: 02 February 2021 in Sustainability
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Kenya is one of the leading exporters of snap beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) to Europe, but the export volume has remained below potential mainly due to failure to meet the market quality standards. The quality concerns include the presence of regulated and quarantine pests, pesticide residues, harmful organisms, and noncompliance with the technical standards. These challenges call for the development of alternative approaches in overcoming the phytosanitary and quality challenges in the export of snap beans and other fresh vegetables. These may include integrated pest management (IPM) approaches that incorporate non synthetic chemical options, such as diversified cropping systems, plant and microbial-based pesticides, varieties with multiple disease and pest resistance, insecticidal soaps, pheromones and kairomones, entomopathogens and predators. These approaches, coupled with capacity-building and adherence to the set quality standards, will improve compliance with export market requirements. The aim of this paper is to increase knowledge on implementing good practices across the value chain of fresh vegetables that would lead to improved quality and thereby meeting institutional requirements for the export market. The novelty of the current review is using snap beans as a model vegetable to discuss the challenges that must be mitigated for the quest of achieving high quality and increased volume of fresh export products. Whilst many of the publications have focused on alternatives to synthetic pesticides in addressing MRLs in fresh vegetable exports, there is a disconnect between research and industry in achieving chemical residue and pest free export vegetables. This review describes the phytosanitary and technical challenges faced by smallholder farmers in accessing export markets, evaluates the phytosanitary and quality requirements by the niche markets, and explores the strategies that could be used to enhance compliance to the institutional and market requirements for fresh vegetables.

ACS Style

Alex Fulano; Geraldin Lengai; James Muthomi. Phytosanitary and Technical Quality Challenges in Export Fresh Vegetables and Strategies to Compliance with Market Requirements: Case of Smallholder Snap Beans in Kenya. Sustainability 2021, 13, 1546 .

AMA Style

Alex Fulano, Geraldin Lengai, James Muthomi. Phytosanitary and Technical Quality Challenges in Export Fresh Vegetables and Strategies to Compliance with Market Requirements: Case of Smallholder Snap Beans in Kenya. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (3):1546.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alex Fulano; Geraldin Lengai; James Muthomi. 2021. "Phytosanitary and Technical Quality Challenges in Export Fresh Vegetables and Strategies to Compliance with Market Requirements: Case of Smallholder Snap Beans in Kenya." Sustainability 13, no. 3: 1546.

Journal article
Published: 10 November 2020 in Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
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The lack of functional flagella and the ability to prey upon other microorganisms are well-known traits of Lysobacter enzymogenes, a plant beneficial bacterial species. Here, we report a possible link between these two traits in the model strain L. enzymogenes OH11 (OH11). The genome of OH11 encompasses several homologous genes involved in the flagellum formation but it lacks a functional fliC, encoding the flagellin. Despite the lack of the main component of the flagellum, OH11 genome includes genes involved in the flagellar type III secretion system (FT3SS), which is commonly deployed by flagellated bacteria to transport flagellar subunit proteins. To understand the role played by FT3SS in OH11, we showed that the remaining FT3SS genes were expressed under laboratory conditions. Subsequently, we showed that the identified FT3SS genes involved in the secretion of the hook-capping protein FlgD, suggesting OH11 likely possessed a functional FT3SS system. Blocking FT3SS in OH11 via inactivation of the ATPase FliI impaired the secretion of the proteins Le3970 (protease), Le4493 (ß-1,3-glucanase A) and Le1659 (halo acid dehalogenase family), that showed a toxic activity against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The possible link between FT3SS and OH11 antagonism towards S. cerevisiae was also confirmed by loss of toxicity in both mutants of ΔfliI and ΔflhB that lacks the FT3SS structural gene flhB when co-cultured with the yeast strain. The design of synthetic proteins toxic against the Gram-negative bacterium Ralstonia solanacearum further supported the involvement of FT3SS in the ability of OH11 to parasitize other microorganisms. Overall, these results revealed a possible cooption of components of FT3SS system in the competition with other microorganisms in the plant beneficial bacterium OH11 and highlighted a functional divergence of FT3SS between flagellated and non-flagellated bacteria.

ACS Style

Alex M. Fulano; Danyu Shen; En-Hui Zhang; Xi Shen; Shan-Ho Chou; Tohru Minamino; Gerardo Puopolo; Guoliang Qian. Functional divergence of flagellar type III secretion system: A case study in a non-flagellated, predatory bacterium. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 2020, 18, 3368 -3376.

AMA Style

Alex M. Fulano, Danyu Shen, En-Hui Zhang, Xi Shen, Shan-Ho Chou, Tohru Minamino, Gerardo Puopolo, Guoliang Qian. Functional divergence of flagellar type III secretion system: A case study in a non-flagellated, predatory bacterium. Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal. 2020; 18 ():3368-3376.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alex M. Fulano; Danyu Shen; En-Hui Zhang; Xi Shen; Shan-Ho Chou; Tohru Minamino; Gerardo Puopolo; Guoliang Qian. 2020. "Functional divergence of flagellar type III secretion system: A case study in a non-flagellated, predatory bacterium." Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 18, no. : 3368-3376.

Journal article
Published: 07 May 2020 in Biomolecules
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The bacterial flagellum is one of the best-studied surface-attached appendages in bacteria. Flagellar assembly in vivo is promoted by its own protein export apparatus, a type III secretion system (T3SS) in pathogenic bacteria. Lysobacter enzymogenes OH11 is a non-flagellated soil bacterium that utilizes type IV pilus (T4P)-driven twitching motility to prey upon nearby fungi for food. Interestingly, the strain OH11 encodes components homologous to the flagellar type III protein apparatus (FT3SS) on its genome, but it remains unknown whether this FT3SS-like system is functional. Here, we report that, despite the absence of flagella, the FT3SS homologous genes are responsible not only for the export of the heterologous flagellin in strain OH11 but also for twitching motility. Blocking the FT3SS-like system by in-frame deletion mutations in either flhB or fliI abolished the secretion of heterologous flagellin molecules into the culture medium, indicating that the FT3SS is functional in strain OH11. A deletion of flhA, flhB, fliI, or fliR inhibited T4P-driven twitching motility, whereas neither that of fliP nor fliQ did, suggesting that FlhA, FlhB, FliI, and FliR may obtain a novel function to modulate the twitching motility. The flagellar FliI ATPase was required for the secretion of the major pilus subunit, PilA, suggesting that FliI would have evolved to act as a PilB-like pilus ATPase. These observations lead to a plausible hypothesis that the non-flagellated L. enzymogenes OH11 could preserve FT3SS-like genes for acquiring a distinct function to regulate twitching motility associated with its predatory behavior.

ACS Style

Alex M. Fulano; Danyu Shen; Miki Kinoshita; Shan-Ho Chou; Guoliang Qian. The Homologous Components of Flagellar Type III Protein Apparatus Have Acquired a Novel Function to Control Twitching Motility in a Non-Flagellated Biocontrol Bacterium. Biomolecules 2020, 10, 733 .

AMA Style

Alex M. Fulano, Danyu Shen, Miki Kinoshita, Shan-Ho Chou, Guoliang Qian. The Homologous Components of Flagellar Type III Protein Apparatus Have Acquired a Novel Function to Control Twitching Motility in a Non-Flagellated Biocontrol Bacterium. Biomolecules. 2020; 10 (5):733.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Alex M. Fulano; Danyu Shen; Miki Kinoshita; Shan-Ho Chou; Guoliang Qian. 2020. "The Homologous Components of Flagellar Type III Protein Apparatus Have Acquired a Novel Function to Control Twitching Motility in a Non-Flagellated Biocontrol Bacterium." Biomolecules 10, no. 5: 733.