Publications

4539

Zebra chip (ZC) is a disease of potato, putatively caused by the vectorborne bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’. Although ZC has been a major concern due its significant negative impact on both potato yield and quality, its effect on seed potato sprouting has been the subject of recent evaluations. The present study was conducted to determine whether variation in emergence is affected by the infection duration of ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’-infected seed potato prior to harvest. Furthermore, changes in pathogen detectability and titer levels in late-season-infected plants also were evaluated during and after cold storage. The rate of ZC-affected seed potato emergence following cold storage was not affected by the time of infection in the field, and the majority of ZC-infected tubers failed to sprout. Time to “seedling” emergence also was significantly longer in seed potato from plants infected ≥2 weeks before harvest. The small percentage of plants that emerged from ZC-affected seed potato produced stunted, nonvigorous plants that often died after a few weeks. The rate of successful ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ detection increased during cold storage, suggesting a continued ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’–tuber interaction postharvest. After tubers were removed from cold storage and held at room temperature, ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ titer started to increase. Although none of the tubers from plants infected 1 week before harvest exhibited any disease symptoms or tested positive for ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ at harvest, up to 38% of these tubers tested positive following placement at room temperature after cold storage. Results of this study suggest that the role of seedborne ZC in disease epidemiology is likely to be insignificant. Furthermore, the findings of this study emphasized the importance of continued control measures until at least a week before harvest, and highlighted the need for improved methods of ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ detection at harvest, especially in tubers infected late in the season.

The bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ is associated with zebra chip disease (ZC), a threat to potato production in North America and New Zealand. It is vectored by potato psyllids. Previous studies observed that ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ infection causes potato tubers to undergo ZC-symptom-associated shifts in physiology, such as increased levels of amino acids, sugars, and phenolics. However, little is known about how ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ infections caused by psyllid vector feeding may affect metabolism in potato foliage and stems. This study compared metabolism in potato plants fed upon by ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’-positive psyllids with potato plants not exposed to psyllids. Foliar levels of asparagine, aspartic acid, glutamine, fructose, glucose, sucrose, a ferulic acid derivative, and quinic acid were lower in ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’-inoculated than noninfected plants. However, foliar levels of proline, serine, four phenolic compounds, and most terpenoids were greater in ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’-inoculated than noninfected plants. Upper stem levels of asparagine and aspartic acid, upper and lower stem levels of ellagitannins and most monoterpenoids, and lower stem level of sesquiterpenoids were greater in ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’-inoculated than noninfected plants. These results suggest that many defense-related terpenoid compounds might increase in plants which had psyllids inoculate ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’. This could impact progression and spread of ZC.

‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ has recently been reported to be associated with vegetative disorders and economic losses in carrot and celery crops in Spain. The bacterium is a carrot seedborne pathogen and it is transmitted by psyllid vector species. From 2011 to 2014 seasonal and occasional surveys in carrot, celery and potato plots were performed. The sticky plant method was used to monitor the arthropods that visited the plants. The collected arthropods were classified into Aphididae and Cicadellidae, and the superfamily Psylloidea was identified to the species level. The superfamily Psylloidea represented 35.45% of the total arthropods captured on celery in Villena and 99.1% on carrot in Tenerife (Canary Islands). The maximum flight of psyllid species was in summer, both in mainland Spain and the Canary Islands, reaching a peak of 570 specimens in August in Villena and 6,063 in July in Tenerife. The main identified psyllid species were as follows: Bactericera trigonica Hodkinson, B. tremblayi Wagner and B. nigricornis Förster. B. trigonica represented more than 99% of the psyllids captured in the Canary Islands and 75% and 38% in 2011 and 2012 in Villena, respectively. In addition, Trioza urticae Linnaeus, Bactericera sp., Ctenarytaina sp., Cacopsylla sp., Trioza sp. and Psylla sp. were captured. ‘Ca. L. solanacearum’ targets were detected by squash real-time PCR in 19.5% of the psyllids belonging to the different Bactericera species. This paper reports at least three new psyllid species that carry the bacterium and can be considered as potential vectors.

Significance TM7 is one of the most enigmatic bacterial phyla among the uncultivated candidate phyla referred to as “microbial dark matter,” and it has potential pathogenic associations. We revealed molecular insights into its uncultivability and pathogenicity, as well its unique epibiotic and parasitic lifestyle phases. These novel discoveries shed significant light on the biological, ecological, and medical importance of TM7, as well as providing useful information for culturing other TM7 and currently uncultivable bacteria that may evade standard cultivation approaches.