Systematic screen of double and triple drug combinations against erwinia amylovora, the causative agent for fire blight

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1620289 (Table of Contents)

Fire blight is one of the most destructive and quarantined bacterial diseases in the Rosaceae family. It has been spread in the world quickly and causes economic losses in many countries. Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent for fire blight, can be either eliminated or deactivated by using chemicals. Copper compounds and antibiotics are the most important roles in the management of fire blight to inhibit the multiplication of Erwinia amylovora, andprevent the development of new infections. In this study, the effect of six antibiotics and one copper compound was measured in E. amylovora. Twenty-one double and twenty triple drug combinations were measured to test whether the two or three different drugs are synergistic or antagonistic against E. amylovora. This novel drug interaction experiment techniques and computational method allowed us to systematically observe and compare double and triple combinations. Among all 21 double drug combinations, pentamidine+oxolinic acid showed the highest synergy and most pairwise drug interactions were antagonistic. Among all 20 triple drug combinations tested, only pentamidine+oxolinic acid+oxytetracycline was found synergistic and again most triple pairs were antagonistic. Since most drug combinations are antagonistic, systematic screens for drug interactions are needed to find synergistic combinations. The double or triple combinations found in this study may be beneficial in the fight against fire blight.