Fire blight is a disease of apple and pear trees caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora .
The disease is controlled by spraying trees with the antibiotic streptomycin. There is interest in controlling the disease by biological control using the common, harmless bacterium Erwinia herbicola . Spraying trees with E. herbicola often protects trees as well as streptomycin. Research in my lab has been concerned with the mechanism by which E. herbicola inhibits E. amylovora . Return to the Faculty home page.