Publications

4359

Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, is an insidious disease in citrus and has become a threat to the sustainability of the citrus industry worldwide. In the U.S., Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) is the pathogen that is associated with HLB, an unculturable, phloem-limited bacteria, vectored by the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). There is no known cure nor treatment to effectively control HLB, and current control methods are primarily based on the use of insecticides and antibiotics, where effectiveness is limited and may have negative impacts on beneficial and non-target organisms. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of effective and sustainable treatment options to reduce or eliminate CLas from infected trees. In the present study, we screened citrus-derived endophytes, their cell-free culture supernatants (CFCS), and crude plant extracts for antimicrobial activity against two culturable surrogates of CLas, Sinorhizobium meliloti and Liberibacter crescens. Candidates considered high-potential antimicrobial agents were assessed directly against CLas in vitro, using a propidium monoazide–based assay. As compared to the negative controls, statistically significant reductions of viable CLas cells were observed for each of the five bacterial CFCS. Subsequent 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that each of the five bacterial isolates were most closely related to Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, a species dominating the market of biological control products. As such, the aboveground endosphere of asymptomatic survivor citrus trees, grown in an organic orchard, were found to host bacterial endophytes capable of effectively disrupting CLas cell membranes. These results concur with the theory that native members of the citrus microbiome play a role in the development of HLB. Here, we identify five strains of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens demonstrating notable potential to be used as sources of novel antimicrobials for the sustainable management of HLB.

Huanglongbing (HLB) is a devastating disease that affects all commercial citrus species worldwide. The disease is associated with bacteria of three species of the genus ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ transmitted by psyllid vectors. To date, HLB has no cure, so preventing its introduction into HLB-free areas is the best strategy to control its spread. For that, the use of accurate, sensitive, specific, and reliable detection methods is critical for good integrated management of this serious disease. This study presents a new real-time recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) protocol able to detect the three ‘Ca. Liberibacter’ species associated with HLB in both plant and insect samples, validated according to European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) guidelines and tested on 365 samples from nine different geographic origins. This new protocol does not require nucleic acid purification or specialized equipment, making it ideal to be used under field conditions. It is based on specific primers and probe targeting a region of fusA gene, which shows a specificity of 94%–100%, both in silico and in vitro, for the ‘Ca. Liberibacter’ species associated with HLB. The analytical sensitivity of the new protocol is excellent, with a reliable detection limit in the order of 101 copies per microliter in HLB-infected plant and insect material. The repeatability and reproducibility of the new methods showed consistent results. Diagnostic parameters of the new RPA protocol were calculated and compared with the gold standard technique, a quantitative real-time PCR, in both crude extracts of citrus plants and insect vectors. The agreement between the two techniques was almost perfect according to the estimated Cohen’s kappa index, with a diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 83.89% and 100%, respectively, and a relative accuracy of 91.59%. Moreover, the results are obtained in less than 35 min. All these results indicate the potential of this new RPA protocol to be implemented as a reliable on-site detection kit for HLB due to its simplicity, speed, and portability.

AbstractA 9‐year‐old neutered male cat, previously test‐positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), was presented with an history of vomiting, hyporexia, and weight loss. Panleukopenia was identified on complete blood counts, and bone marrow evaluation revealed ineffective granulocytic hyperplasia and rare neutro‐, erythro‐, and rubriphagocytosis. Prednisolone was initiated with no response, and progression to pancytopenia occurred. On abdominal ultrasonographic examination, splenomegaly was present. PCR testing was positive for Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum and IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii were detected (titer 1:2560). Treatment with antibiotics, feline recombinant interferon‐ω, chlorambucil, mycophenolate, and raltegravir was implemented with no clinical improvement, and splenectomy was performed. Cytologic evaluation of splenic aspirates revealed exuberant neutro‐, erythro‐, and rubriphagocytosis. Histopathology of the spleen also showed many erythrophagocytic macrophages with no evidence of malignancy, and a diagnosis of hemophagocytic syndrome (HS) was made. The WBC count and hematocrit reached reference values 1 day and 3 months, respectively, after splenectomy. The cat was treated with cyclosporine and lomustine. Disease progression led to the development of septic hepatitis, and the cat was euthanized. To our knowledge, this is the first case of presumptive HS in cats that might have been associated with FIV, Toxoplasma gondii, and Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum co‐infection.

An updated real-time multiplex quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay was designed and validated for the simultaneous detection of three ‘ Candidatus Liberibacter species’ (CLsp), ‘ Ca. Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas), ‘africanus’ (CLaf), and ‘americanus’ (CLam), associated with the huanglongbing disease of citrus. The multiplex assay was designed based on the qPCR assay published in 2006 by Li et al., considering all available CLsp 16S rRNA gene sequences in GenBank and the MIQE guidelines and workflow for qPCR optimization, which became available after 2006. When using the updated multiplex CLsp qPCR assay compared with singleplex qPCR, no significant increase in quantitative cycle (Cq) values was detected. The specificity and sensitivity of the updated qPCR assay was optimal, and measuring the intra- and interassay variations confirmed the reproducibility and repeatability of the assay. The assay was also successfully used with a large number of diverse samples at independent laboratories in four countries, thus demonstrating its transferability, applicability, practicability, and robustness as different qPCR reaction conditions or instruments had a minor effect on Cq values. This updated multiplex CLsp qPCR assay can be used in a variety of citrus surveys, germplasm, or nursery stock programs that require different pathogen detection tools for their successful operation. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

AbstractMany Rickettsia species of the spotted fever group (SFG) cause tick‐borne diseases known as “spotted fever.” One of the candidate SFG Rickettsia species is “Candidatus Rickettsia kotlanii,” which was first detected in Haemaphysalis concinna in Hungary in 2006. However, its precise phylogenetic position in the SFG is not clear because only single‐gene sequence–based phylogenetic analyses were performed using very limited genes. Here, we present the complete genome sequences of two Japanese “Ca. R. kotlanii” isolates, which differed only by a 135 bp insertion/deletion (InDel). Using these genomes and publicly available whole genome sequences of other Rickettsia species, the precise phylogenetic position of “Ca. R. kotlanii” in Rickettsia was determined to be in a clade of the SFG. The phylogenetic relationships and average nucleotide identity of “Ca. R. kotlanii” relative to the other species indicated that “Ca. R. kotlanii” is an independent taxon in the SFG. Notably, although the genomes of the two isolates were almost identical, the isolates were obtained from different tick species in different regions and years, suggesting extremely low genomic diversity in “Ca. R. kotlanii.” While the genome of “Ca. R. kotlanii” is the smallest in the transitional group and SFG Rickettsia sequenced to date, we identified genes uniquely present or absent in “Ca. R. kotlanii,” but most were apparently degraded. Therefore, analyses of differences at the sequence (single nucleotide polymorphisms and small InDels) or gene expression level will be required to understand the functional or physiological features unique to “Ca. R. kotlanii.”

‘ Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) is associated with the devastating citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB). Young flushes are the center of the HLB pathosystem due to their roles in the psyllid life cycle and in the acquisition and transmission of CLas. However, the early events of CLas infection and how CLas modulates young flush physiology remain poorly understood. Here, transmission electron microscopy analysis showed that the mean diameter of the sieve pores decreased in young leaves of HLB-positive trees after CLas infection, consistent with CLas-triggered callose deposition. RNA-seq-based global expression analysis of young leaves of HLB-positive sweet orange with (CLas-Pos) and without (CLas-Neg) detectable CLas demonstrated a significant impact on gene expression in young leaves, including on the expression of genes involved in host immunity, stress response, and plant hormone biosynthesis and signaling. CLas-Pos and CLas-Neg expression data displayed distinct patterns. The number of upregulated genes was higher than that of the downregulated genes in CLas-Pos for plant−pathogen interactions, glutathione metabolism, peroxisome, and calcium signaling, which are commonly associated with pathogen infections, compared with the healthy control. On the contrary, the number of upregulated genes was lower than that of the downregulated genes in CLas-Neg for genes involved in plant−pathogen interactions and peroxisome biogenesis/metabolism. Additionally, a time-course quantitative reverse transcription-PCR-based expression analysis visualized the induced expression of companion cell-specific genes, phloem protein 2 genes, and sucrose transport genes in young flushes triggered by CLas. This study advances our understanding of early events during CLas infection of citrus young flushes.

AbstractCandidatus Branchiomonas cysticola is recognized as the most prevalent bacterial agent causing epitheliocystis in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Based on its partial 16S rRNA sequence, the bacterium has previously been found to be a member of Burkholderiales in the class Betaproteobacteria. Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) of the bacterium and 60 type strains of Betaproteobacteria using newly identified housekeeping genes (dnaK, rpoC, and fusA) and ribosomal subunit sequences (16S and 23S), instead supported the bacterium’s affiliation to Nitrosomodales. Taxonomic rank normalization by Relative Evolutionary Divergence (RED) showed the phylogenetic distinction between Cand. B. cysticola and its closest related type strain to be at the family level. A novel bacterial family named Branchiomonaceae has thus been proposed to include a monophyletic clade of Betaproteobacteria exclusively associated with epitheliocystis in fish.