Publications

4510

Abstract In 2022, EFSA was mandated by the European Commission's Directorate‐General for Health and Food Safety (M‐2022‐00070) to provide technical assistance on the list of Union quarantine pests qualifying as priority pests, as specified in Article 6(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 on protective measures against plant pests. As part of Task C, EFSA conducted comprehensive expert knowledge elicitations for candidate priority pests on the lag period, rate of expansion and impact on production (yield and quality losses) and the environment. This report provides the rationale for the dataset on the three Candidatus Liberibacter species associated with citrus greening disease, delivered to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, to feed into the Impact Indicator for Priority Pest (I2P2) model and complete the pest prioritisation ranking exercise.

AbstractBACKGROUNDHuanglongbing (HLB) is a systemic disease of citrus caused by the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) that limits citrus production worldwide. CLas is an obligate bacterial pathogen that multiplies in citrus trees and in the insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. There is no cure for HLB currently and broad‐spectrum antibiotics represent one possible therapeutic against disease symptoms. Single‐stranded nucleic acid analogs, 2′‐deoxy‐2’‐Fluoro‐β‐D‐arabinonucleic antisense oligonucleotides (FANA ASOs), can modulate gene expression by enzymatic degradation or steric blocking of an RNA target. FANA ASOs recognize and bind to specific RNA forms, including mRNA, miRNA and long noncoding RNA, through complementary base‐pairing.RESULTSInjection of oxytetracycline (OTC) into mature citrus trees with HLB ameliorated symptoms of disease, increased fruit yield and quality of juice as compared with that produced by noninjected controls. Injection of trees with FANA ASOs reduced CLas abundance but did not improve fruit yield and quality above control levels at the injection dosage tested. Reduced pathogen relative abundance following OTC injection was coincident with lower CLas acquisition and inoculation by laboratory deployed and wild‐type D. citri collected from the field, respectively. However, injections of FANA ASOs did not consistently reduce CLas transmission as compared with noninjected controls.CONCLUSIONSTrunk injection of OTC may be useful in management of HLB by reducing CLas infection in trees and disrupting transmission. However, more research is needed to verify the potential usefulness of FANA ASOs. Optimizing FANA ASO dosage in trees and exploring the potential of multiplex FANA ASOs that simultaneously target multiple mRNAs could possibly enhance their efficacy against CLas. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Abstract Legumes Lessertia diffusa and Calobota sericea, indigenous to South Africa, are commonly used as fodder crops with potential for sustainable livestock pasture production. Rhizobia were isolated from their root nodules grown in their respective soils from the Succulent Karoo biome (SKB) in South Africa, identified and characterized using a polyphasic approach. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene confirmed all isolates as Mesorhizobium members, which were categorized into two distinct lineages using five housekeeping protein-coding genes. Lineage I included 14 strains from both legumes, while Lineage II comprised a single isolate from C. sericea. Differences in phenotypic traits were observed between the lineages and corroborated by average nucleotide identity analyses. While all strains nodulated their original hosts, strains from C. sericea failed to effectively nodulate L. diffusa and vice versa. Phylogenetic analyses of nitrogen fixation (nifH) and nodulation (nodA, nodC) loci grouped all strains in a single clade, suggesting that unique symbiotic loci determine nodulation of these legumes. We designated Lineage I and II as Mesorhizobium salmacidum sp. nov. (Ld1326Ts; GCA_037179605.1Ts) and Mesorhizobium argentiipisi sp. nov. (Cs1330R2N1Ts; GCA_037179585.1Ts), using genome sequences as nomenclatural types according to the Nomenclatural Code for Prokaryotes using Sequence Data, thus avoiding complications with South Africa's biodiversity regulations. Identifying effective microsymbionts of L. diffusa and C. sericea is essential for conservation of Succulent Karoo Biome, where indigenous invasive species like Vachellia karroo and non-native Australian acacia species are present. Furthermore, targeted management practices using effective symbionts of the studied legumes can sustain the biome's socio-economic contribution through fodder provision.

The occurrence of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp. and ‘Ca. Phytoplasma’ spp. associated with blotchy mottle symptoms poses challenges to huanglongbing (HLB) diagnosis using molecular techniques. The ability to detect multiple targets simultaneously and specifically is a key aspect met by quantitative PCR (qPCR). A set of primers and hydrolysis probes useful in either single or multiplex reactions for the detection and quantification of HLB-associated bacteria were developed. Sequences from conserved genes of the ribosomal proteins for Liberibacter and phytoplasma circumvent the lack of specificity and cross-reactivity problems related to 16Sr DNA gene amplification, allowing precise and specific detection of HLB-associated bacteria in citrus and in the Liberibacter vector, Diaphorina citri. The triplex reaction exhibited high quality and precision as a robust tool for quantifying ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ (CLas), ‘Ca. L. americanus’ (CLam), and 16Sr IX phytoplasma. Triplex qPCR showed consistent results and comparable sensitivity to the ribonuclease reductase test, although quantification cycle (Cq) values were higher when compared with 16SrDNA qPCR. Detection tests using field samples indicate that the qPCR triplex can identify HLB-associated bacteria in samples with varying levels of symptoms, ranging from typical to asymptomatic. Assessment of field samples from growers indicated more than 78.6% had Cq lower than 35.0, below the cutoff established for qPCR reactions used in this work. qPCR triplex is a safe, specific, and sufficiently sensitive technique for detecting CLas, CLam, and 16Sr IX phytoplasma simultaneously, in both citrus and D. citri samples. Its application is of importance in assisting growers in making decisions for HLB management.

ABSTRACT Biogas reactors operating at elevated ammonia levels are commonly susceptible to process disturbances, further augmented at thermophilic temperatures. The major cause is assumed to be linked to inhibition followed by an imbalance between different functional microbial groups, centred around the last two steps of the anaerobic digestion, involving acetogens, syntrophic acetate oxidisers (SAOB) and methanogens. Acetogens are key contributors to reactor efficiency, acting as the crucial link between the hydrolysis and fermentation steps and the final methanogenesis step. Their major product is acetate, at high ammonia levels further converted by SAOB and hydrogenotrophic methanogens to biogas. Even though these functionally different processes are well recognised, less is known about the responsible organism at elevated temperature and ammonia conditions. The main aim of this study was to garner insights into the penultimate stages in three thermophilic reactors (52°C) operated under high ammonia levels (FAN 0.7–1.0 g/L; TAN 3.6–4.4 g/L). The primary objective was to identify potential acetogens and SAOBs. Metagenomic data from the three reactors were analysed for the reductive acetyl‐CoA pathway (Wood–Ljungdahl Pathway) and glycine synthase reductase pathway. The results revealed a lack of true acetogens but uncovered three potential SAOB candidates that harbour the WLP, ‘ Candidatus Thermodarwinisyntropha acetovorans’, ‘ Candidatus Thermosyntrophaceticus schinkii’, ‘ Candidatus Thermotepidanaerobacter aceticum’, and a potential lipid‐degrader ‘ Candidatus Thermosyntrophomonas ammoiaca’.