Publications

4490

ABSTRACT “ Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” is the causative bacterium associated with citrus greening disease. “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus” is transmitted by Diaphorina citri more efficiently when it is acquired by nymphs rather than adults. Why this occurs is not known. We compared midguts of D. citri insects reared on healthy or “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus”-infected citrus trees using quantitative PCR, confocal microscopy, and mitochondrial superoxide staining for evidence of oxidative stress. Consistent with its classification as propagative, “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus” titers were higher in adults than in nymphs. Our previous work showed that adult D. citri insects have basal levels of karyorrhexis (fragmentation of the nucleus) in midgut epithelial cells, which is increased in severity and frequency in response to “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus.” Here, we show that nymphs exhibit lower levels of early-stage karyorrhexis than adults and are refractory to the induction of advanced karyorrhexis by “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus” in the midgut epithelium. MitoSox Red staining showed that guts of infected adults, particularly males, experienced oxidative stress in response to “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus.” A positive correlation between the titers of “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus” and the Wolbachia endosymbiont was observed in adult and nymph midguts, suggesting an interplay between these bacteria during development. We hypothesize that the resistance of the nymph midgut to late-stage karyorrhexis through as yet unknown molecular mechanisms benefits “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus” for efficient invasion of midgut epithelial cells, which may be a factor explaining the developmental dependency of “ Ca . Liberibacter asiaticus” acquisition by the vector.

“CandidatusPhytoplasma aurantifolia” is associated with witches’ broom disease of lime in Oman and the UAE. A previous study showed that an infection by phytoplasma may not necessarily result in the physical appearance of witches’ broom symptoms in some locations in Oman and the UAE. This study investigated whether phytoplasma strains belonging to “Ca.P. aurantifolia” (based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis) in locations where disease symptoms are expressed are different from phytoplasma in locations where disease symptoms are not expressed. About 21 phytoplasma strains (15 from areas and trees with disease symptoms and six from areas and trees without disease symptoms) were included in the analysis. The study utilized sequences of the imp and SAP11 genes to characterize the 21 strains. Phylogenetic analysis of both genes showed that the 21 strains are similar to each other and to reference strains in GenBank. The study shows that there is a low level of diversity among all phytoplasma strains. In addition, it shows that phytoplasma in places where witches’ broom symptoms are not expressed are similar to phytoplasma in places where disease symptoms are expressed. This may suggest that disease expression is not linked to the presence of different phytoplasma strains, but may be due to other factors such as weather conditions.

Abstract Small acidophilic archaea belonging to Micrarchaeota and Parvarchaeota phyla are known to physically interact with some Thermoplasmatales members in nature. However, due to a lack of cultivation and limited genomes on hand, their biodiversity, metabolisms, and physiologies remain largely unresolved. Here, we obtained 39 genomes from acid mine drainage (AMD) and hot spring environments around the world. 16S rRNA gene based analyses revealed that Parvarchaeota were only detected in AMD and hot spring habitats, while Micrarchaeota were also detected in others including soil, peat, hypersaline mat, and freshwater, suggesting a considerable higher diversity and broader than expected habitat distribution for this phylum. Despite their small genomes (0.64–1.08 Mb), these archaea may contribute to carbon and nitrogen cycling by degrading multiple saccharides and proteins, and produce ATP via aerobic respiration and fermentation. Additionally, we identified several syntenic genes with homology to those involved in iron oxidation in six Parvarchaeota genomes, suggesting their potential role in iron cycling. However, both phyla lack biosynthetic pathways for amino acids and nucleotides, suggesting that they likely scavenge these biomolecules from the environment and/or other community members. Moreover, low-oxygen enrichments in laboratory confirmed our speculation that both phyla are microaerobic/anaerobic, based on several specific genes identified in them. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses provide insights into the close evolutionary history of energy related functionalities between both phyla with Thermoplasmatales. These results expand our understanding of these elusive archaea by revealing their involvement in carbon, nitrogen, and iron cycling, and suggest their potential interactions with Thermoplasmatales on genomic scale.