Nano-enabled disruption of bacterial virulence and communication in plant pathosystems: emerging strategies for sustainable disease management

Abstract

Bacterial diseases are a major cause of crop losses worldwide, threatening food security and the sustainability of agricultural production. Traditional management practices heavily rely on antibiotics, resistant strains and copper-based compounds but their continued efficiency is hampered by antimicrobial resistance, ecological issues and rapid evolution of pathogens. Nano-enabled anti-virulence strategies offer a novel approach that specifically targets bacterial virulence instead of the killing of the pathogens alone, which can potentially reduce the pressure for resistance development. This review rigorously investigates mechanistic basis of nano-facilitated interference in bacterial communication and pathogenicity in the plant pathosystems. We evaluated the impact of metallic, metal oxide, silica-based, carbon-based and polymeric nanomaterials on quorum sensing (QS), biofilm formation, extracellular polysaccharide synthesis, motility, secretion pathways, phytotoxin production and host colonization. Particular emphasis is placed on nanoparticle–pathogen interactions, nano-enabled delivery of quorum quenchers, RNA molecules and biological agents, microbiome compatibility, and the integration of these processes within a mechanistic anti-virulence framework. Current evidence indicates that nanomaterial efficacy is strongly influenced by physicochemical properties, target virulence mechanisms, delivery efficiency, and environmental conditions; therefore, no single nanoplatform is universally optimal across plant–pathogen systems. Although smart delivery systems provide opportunities to simultaneously interfere with interconnected virulence pathways, their practical application remains constrained by field stability, biosafety, non-target effects, scalability, and regulatory uncertainty. Overall, advancing nano-enabled anti-virulence technologies from laboratory efficacy toward sustainable crop protection will require mechanism-guided nanomaterial design, microbiome-compatible formulations, rigorous field validation, and comprehensive environmental risk assessment.