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Summary

Pantoea agglomerans is a Gram-negative bacterium that belongs to the family Erwiniaceae.
It was formerly called Enterobacter agglomerans, or Erwinia herbicola and is a ubiquitous bacterium commonly isolated from plant surfaces, seeds, fruit, and animal or human feces and can be found throughout a honeybee's environment. Levan produced by Pantoea agglomerans ZMR7 was reported to decrease the viability of rhabdomyosarcoma (RD) and breast cancer (MDA) cells compared with untreated cancer cells. In addition, it has high antiparasitic activity against the promastigote of Leishmania tropica.

Plant disease biocontrol

Pantoea agglomerans can serve as a biocontrol organism for the management of plant diseases. It has been used to control fire blight, a plant disease caused by bacterium Erwinia amylovora, that is a common problem in pear and apple crops. After coming in contact with Erwinia amylovora, Pantoea agglomerans produces antibiotic compounds that are toxic to the fire blight-inducing bacterium. It is possible that habitat modification or exclusion (competition) also be mechanisms that make Pantoea agglomerans effective for fire blight biological control.

Environmental factors influencing the growth and spread of Pantoea agglomerans include winter chilling, good sunlight exposure and quality air circulation. Fruit-bearing trees, such as apple and pear trees are common Pantoea agglomerans hosts and during blooming season the fruit-bearing trees receive a period of chilling to revive them from their dormant state in the following spring. In terms of sunlight exposure, fruit trees generally grow best in warm, moist and well-lit environments, thus Pantoea agglomerans must also be able to survive under these conditions to effectively protect healthy plant hosts. Pantoea agglomerans is an aerobic bacterium, so it requires a certain level of air circulation in order to survive.

Pantoea agglomerans has also been used as a biocontrol organism to manage other plant diseases, such as...