Data from: Phage combination therapies for bacterial wilt disease in tomato

Bacteriophage have been proposed as an alternative to pesticides to kill bacterial pathogens of crops. However, phage-biocontrol outcomes are still highly variable and poorly understood in natural rhizosphere microbiomes at timescales considering both ecological and evolutionary processes. However, the efficacy of phage-biocontrol is variable and poorly understood in natural rhizosphere microbiomes at timescales considering both ecological and evolutionary processes. We studied the biocontrol efficacy of different phage combinations on Ralstonia solanacearum infection in tomato. Increasing the number of phages in combinations decreased disease incidence by up to 80% in greenhouse and field experiments during single crop season. Disease reduction was explained by pathogen density reduction and selection for resistant but slow-growing pathogen strains, together with enrichment for bacterial species that were antagonistic towards Ralstonia solanacearum. Phage treatment did not affect existing rhizosphere microbiota. Specific phage combinations show promise as precision tools to reduce pathogen abundance in plants.Spreadsheet tabs contain data underlying figures from the associated paper (http://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0328-3) Funding provided by: National Natural Science Foundation of ChinaCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001809Award Number: 41671248Funding provided by: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk OnderzoekCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003246Award Number: ALW.870.15.050Funding provided by: Royal SocietyCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288Award Number: RSG\R1\180213Funding provided by: Royal SocietyCrossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000288Award Number: CHL\R1\18003