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4528

In April of 2012, tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants with symptoms resembling those associated with viral infection were observed in commercial fields in the Department of El-Paraíso, Honduras. Symptoms on affected plants included apical leaf curling and stunting, overall chlorosis and plant stunting, young plant deformation with cabbage-like leaves, wilting, and internal vascular necrosis of stems and leaf petioles. All cultivars grown were affected, with disease incidence ranging from 5 to 80% of symptomatic plants per field. The fields were also heavily infested with the psyllid Bactericera cockerelli. This psyllid is a serious pest of solanaceous crops in the United States, Mexico, Central America, and New Zealand and has been shown to transmit the bacterium “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” to potato, tomato, and other solanaceous species (2,3). Tobacco (cv. Habano criollo) plant samples were collected from one field in the municipality of Trojes. Initial testing of the plant samples for viruses, including Tobacco mosaic virus, Impatiens necrotic spot virus, Cucumber mosaic virus, and Potato virus Y, using Immunostrips (Agdia, Elkhart, IN) were negative. Total DNA was then extracted from leaf tissues of a total of 13 plants, including eight symptomatic plants and five asymptomatic plants with the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) buffer extraction method (2,4). The DNA samples were tested by PCR using specific PCR primer pairs OA2/OI2c and OMB 1482f/2086r, to amplify a portion of 16S rDNA and the outer membrane protein (OMB) gene of “Ca. L. solanacearum,” respectively (2). All eight (100%) symptomatic plant samples were positive for “Ca. L. solanacearum” with both sets of primer pairs. “Ca. L. solanacearum” was not detected in the asymptomatic plants. The 16S rDNA and OMB gene amplicons of two plant samples each were cloned and four clones of each of the four amplicons were sequenced. BLASTn analysis of the consensus sequences confirmed “Ca. L. solanaeacrum” in the tobacco samples. The 16S rDNA consensus sequences (1,168 bp) of all amplicons were identical and showed 100% identity with several 16S rDNA sequences of “Ca. L. solanacearum” in GenBank (e.g., Accession Nos. HM245242, JF811596, and JX559779). The consensus sequence of the OMB amplicon (605 bp) showed 97 to 100% homology with a number of “Ca. L. solanacearum” OMB sequences in GenBank, including Accession Nos. CP002371, FJ914617, JN848754 and JN848752. The tobacco-associated consensus 16S rDNA and OMB sequences from this study were deposited in GenBank as Accession Nos. KC768320 and KC768328, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of “Ca. L. solanacearum” associated with tobacco in Honduras, where this cash crop is economically important. This bacterium has also caused millions of dollars in losses to potato, tomato, and several other solanaceous crops in North and Central America and New Zealand, particularly in regions where B. cockerelli is present (3). Furthermore, “Ca. L. solanacearum” has caused significant economic damage to carrot crops in Europe, where it is transmitted by the psyllids Trioza apicalis in northern Europe (4) and B. trigonica in the Mediterranean region (1). References: (1) A. Alfaro-Fernandez et al. Plant Dis. 96:581, 2012. (2) J. M. Crosslin. Southwest. Entomol. 36:125, 2011. (3) J. E. Munyaneza. Am. J. Pot. Res. 89:329, 2012. (4) J. E. Munyaneza et al. J. Econ. Entomol. 103:1060, 2010.

Cyanobacteria were responsible for the oxygenation of the ancient atmosphere; however, the evolution of this phylum is enigmatic, as relatives have not been characterized. Here we use whole genome reconstruction of human fecal and subsurface aquifer metagenomic samples to obtain complete genomes for members of a new candidate phylum sibling to Cyanobacteria, for which we propose the designation ‘Melainabacteria’. Metabolic analysis suggests that the ancestors to both lineages were non-photosynthetic, anaerobic, motile, and obligately fermentative. Cyanobacterial light sensing may have been facilitated by regulators present in the ancestor of these lineages. The subsurface organism has the capacity for nitrogen fixation using a nitrogenase distinct from that in Cyanobacteria, suggesting nitrogen fixation evolved separately in the two lineages. We hypothesize that Cyanobacteria split from Melainabacteria prior or due to the acquisition of oxygenic photosynthesis. Melainabacteria remained in anoxic zones and differentiated by niche adaptation, including for symbiosis in the mammalian gut.

Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) crops grown in several departments of Honduras and heavily infested with the psyllid Bactericera cockerelli were observed in April of 2012 with plant symptoms suggestive of “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” infection. B. cockerelli is a serious pest of potato, tomato, and other solanaceous plants and a vector of “Ca. L. solanacearum” (1,2,3,4). The symptoms included overall chlorosis, severe stunting, leaf cupping, excessive branching of axillary shoots, and leaf purpling and scorching (2,3). Disease incidence ranged from 5 to 50% symptomatic plants per field. Tomato (cv. Pony) plant samples were collected from two psyllid-infested commercial fields in the municipalities of Danli and Comayagua in the departments of El-Paraiso and Comayagua, respectively. Total DNA was extracted from leaf tissues of 50 and 20 symptomatic and asymptomatic plants, respectively, with the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) buffer extraction method (1,3). The DNA samples were tested for “Ca. L. solanacearum” by PCR with primer pairs specific for 16S rDNA (OA2 and OI2c) and the outer membrane protein gene (OMB 1482f and 2086r) of the bacterium (1,2). Ten (20%) of the 50 symptomatic tomato samples were positive for “Ca. L. solanacearum” using both primer pairs and the remaining samples were negative for the bacterium with both primer sets. None of the 20 asymptomatic plants tested positive for “Ca. L. solanacearum”. Amplicons from DNA of two plant samples (one plant/municipality) with each primer pair were cloned and four clones of each of the four amplicons were sequenced. BLASTn analysis of the 16S rDNA consensus sequences from the clones (deposited in GenBank as Accession Nos. KC768321 and KC768322) were identical for both locations and showed 99 to 100% identity to several “Ca. L. solanacearum” sequences in GenBank (e.g., JN848753, JN84856, and HM246509). The OMB consensus sequences from the two tomato plants (deposited in GenBank as KC768329 and KC768330) were 100% identical to OMB sequences of Lso in GenBank (CP002371 and JN48754, respectively). To our knowledge, this is the first report of “Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum” associated with tomato crops in Honduras. This bacterium has caused millions of dollars in losses to the tomato industry in the United States, Mexico, and New Zealand (2,3,4). Serious damages to tomato crops due to “Ca. L. solanacearum” could expand throughout Central America, especially in those countries where B. cockerelli occurs. References: (1) J. M. Crosslin. Southwest. Entomol. 36:125, 2011. (2) L. W. Liefting et al. Plant Dis. 93:208, 2009. (3) J. E. Munyaneza et al. Plant Dis. 93:1076, 2009. (4) J. E. Munyaneza. Am. J. Pot. Res. 89:329, 2012.

Based on an earlier survey of putative psyllid vectors of apple proliferation (AP), carried out in 2009 and 2010, Cacopsylla picta (Förster) populations infected with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’ were detected in at least two commercial apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) orchards in southern Finland (1). To establish the presence of ‘Ca. P. mali’ in apple trees, a survey was conducted in 17 commercial apple orchards in August 2012. Phytosanitary inspectors tracked the source of the ‘Ca. P. mali’ by collecting 33 leaf samples from trees showing probable symptoms. Typical symptoms, including elongated stipules and witches' broom, were rare. Total DNA was extracted from leaves using a DNeasy Plant Mini Kit (Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) and screened for ‘Ca. P. mali’ with real-time PCR (2) and the commercial Apple Proliferation Group – complete PCR reaction kit (Loewe Biochemica GmbH, Sauerlach, Germany). Two samples tested positive and results were confirmed with TaqMan PCR and conventional PCR assays and DNA sequencing in the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), in the United Kingdom. One positive sample was taken from an orchard in Lohja, southern Finland, where high ‘Ca. P. mali’ incidence in overwintered C. picta was observed in 2010 (1). ‘Ca. P. mali’ was found in a >40-year-old ‘Red Melba’ tree with witches' broom but without elongated stipule symptoms. The other positive sample was collected from an orchard in the Aland Islands, where the infected ‘Lobo’ tree showed symptoms of elongated stipules. This orchard was not monitored for AP vectors. No small fruit symptoms were noted by inspectors or growers in either of the orchards. The positive samples were further analyzed for subtypes using PCR/RFLP and primers AP13/AP10 (3). The amplicons (776 bp) were sequenced and digested with HincII and BspHI (New England BioLabs Inc., Ipswich, MA) following manufacturer's instructions. Both samples proved to be apple proliferation subtypes AT-1 on the basis of RFLP and the sequenced 776-bp region. Sequences of the 776-bp amplicon of the Lohja and Aland isolates showed 100% and 99% identity, respectively, with sequences of apple proliferation isolates (accession nos. L22217.1 and CU469464.1) in GenBank. Both suspected psyllid vectors of ‘Ca. P. mali’ C. picta and C. melanoneura (Förster) occur in Finland, but their distribution, abundance, and transmission specificity is inadequately documented. The next step to evaluate the risk of spread of apple proliferation in commercial orchards is an extensive survey of the occurrence of Cacopsylla species infected with ‘Ca. P. mali’. References: (1) A. Lemmetty et al. B. Insectol. 64:257, 2011. (2) P. Nikolić et al. Mol. Cell. Probes. 24:303, 2010. (3) W. Jarausch et al. Mol. Cell. Probes 14:17, 2000.

A novel halotolerant actinomycete, designated strain BNT52T, was isolated from soil collected from Cihanbeyli Salt Mine in the central Anatolia region of Turkey, and examined using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The isolate was found to have chemical and morphological properties typical of the genus Amycolatopsis and formed a distinct phyletic line in the 16S rRNA gene tree. Strain BNT52T was most closely related to Amycolatopsis nigrescens CSC17Ta-90T (96.7 %), Amycolatopsis magusensis KT2025T (96.6 %), Amycolatopsis sulphurea DSM 46092T (96.6 %), Amycolatopsis dongchuanensis YIM 75904T (96.5 %), Amycolatopsis ultiminotia RP-AC36T (96.4 %) and Amycolatopsis sacchari DSM 44468T (96.4 %). Sequence similarities with other strains of species of the genus Amycolatopsis were lower than 96.2 %. The isolate grew at 20–37 °C, pH 6–12 and in the presence of 0–10 % (w/v) NaCl. The cell wall of the novel strain contained meso-diaminopimelic acid and arabinose and galactose as the diagnostic sugars. Major fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0 2-OH and iso-C16 : 0. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H4). The polar lipids detected were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylmethylethanolamine. The genomic DNA G+C content was 68.8 mol%. On the basis of the data from this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain BNT52T represents a novel species within the genus Amycolatopsis for which the name Amycolatopsis cihanbeyliensis sp. nov. is proposed (type strain BNT52T = KCTC 29065T = NRRL B-24886T = DSM 45679T).

In this study, two polyclonal antibodies were produced against the Omp protein of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. First, omp genes were sequenced to exhibit 99.9% identity among 137 isolates collected from different geographical origins. Then, two peptides containing the hydrophobic polypeptide-transport-associated (POTRA) domain and β-barrel domain, respectively, were identified on Omp protein. After that, these two peptides were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified by affinity chromatography to immunize the white rabbits. Finally, the antiserum was purified by affinity chromatography. The two Omp antibodies gave positive results (0.454 to 0.633, 1:1,600 dilution) in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’-infected samples collected from different geographical origins but revealed negative results against other pathogen-infected, nutrient-deficient and healthy samples. The antibody against the POTRA domain of Omp protein could detect ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ in 45.7% of the symptomatic samples compared with a 56.2% detection rate with a polymerase chain reaction assay. These new antibodies will provide a very useful supplement to the current approaches to ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ detection and also provide powerful research tools for tracking distribution of this pathogen in vivo.