Identification of Diaphorina citri Proteins with Affinity to ‘ Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, the Putative Pathogen of Citrus Greening Disease


Publication

Citation
Santiago Vazquez, Killiny (2026). Phytopathology®
Names (1)
Abstract
The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, transmits the putative causal agent of citrus greening disease, ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. The transmission occurs in a propagative circulative manner. Specific protein-protein interactions are required for the accomplishment of the transmission process. We employed the far-Western technique, also known as protein overlay assay, and mass spectrometry, to identify D. citri proteins that specifically recognize membrane proteins of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’. Whole-body protein extracts of D. citri were separated by electrophoresis and blotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) membranes. The membranes were overlayed with sonicated leaf midrib extracts from ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’-infected citrus plants. The protein complexes were detected using different antibodies against ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ membrane proteins and peptidoglycans associated with lipoproteins. By comparison, spots were extracted from a polyacrylamide gel for LC-MS-MS analysis. Identified proteins included ATP synthase alpha and beta subunits, actin, alpha- and beta-tubulins, transitional endoplasmic reticulum ATPase TER94, 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein, and arginine kinase. These findings emphasized the involvement of energy machinery and muscle proteins in the ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’-D. citri interactions. Understanding the pathogen-vector interactions will lead to better-designed control strategies based on the interference with specific interactions and/or blocking transmission.
Authors
Santiago Vazquez, Jorge; Killiny, Nabil
Publication date
2026-03-11
DOI
10.1094/phyto-05-25-0166-r 

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