SeqCode Registry
cognitis nomina
  • About
  • Search
  • •
  • Login
  • Register
Authors Shires

JSON
See as cards

Shires, Madalyn K.


Publications
4

CitationNamesAbstract
Putting ‘X’ into Context: The Diversity of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Strains Associated with the Induction of X-Disease Molnar et al. (2024). Plant Disease 108 (9) Ca. Phytoplasma pruni
Text
Physiological and Transcriptomic Analysis of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Infection in Prunus persica Wright et al. (2023). PhytoFrontiers™ 3 (2) Ca. Phytoplasma pruni
Text
Recovery Plan for X-Disease in Stone Fruit Caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Harper et al. (2023). Plant Health Progress 24 (2) Ca. Phytoplasma pruni
Text
Effect of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Infection on Sweet Cherry Fruit Wright et al. (2021). Phytopathology® 111 (12) Ca. Phytoplasma pruni
Text

Putting ‘X’ into Context: The Diversity of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Strains Associated with the Induction of X-Disease
Recurrent epiphytotics of X-disease, caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni,’ have inflicted significant losses on commercial cherry and peach production across North America in the last century. During this period, there have been multiple studies reporting different disease phenotypes and, more recently, identifying different strains through sequencing core genes, but the symptoms have not, to date, been linked with genotype. Therefore, in this study we collected and assessed differing disease phenotypes from multiple U.S. states and conducted multilocus sequence analysis on these strains. We identified a total of five lineages associated with the induction of X-disease on commercial Prunus species and two lineages that were associated with wild P. virginiana. Despite a century of interstate plant movement, there were regional trends in terms of lineages present, and lineage-specific symptoms were observed on P. avium, P. cerasus, and P. virginiana, but not on P. persica. Cumulatively, these data have allowed us to define “true” X-disease–inducing strains of concern to the stone fruit industry across North America, as well as potential sources of infection that exist in the extraorchard environment.
Physiological and Transcriptomic Analysis of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Infection in Prunus persica
‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ is the causative agent of X-disease on peach ( Prunus persica) trees. Infected trees exhibit premature yellowing, leaf necrosis causing a shot-hole appearance, limb dieback, and eventual death. How pathogen infection leads to these symptoms is unknown. This study undertook a modern characterization of the disease by assessing the physiological and transcriptomic consequences of phytoplasma infection. Phytoplasma titer was high in the symptomatic tissues and undetected or low in asymptomatic tissues. Symptomatic leaves had a significant decrease in chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids. Transcriptomic analysis showed alterations in genes related to phytohormone synthesis and signaling, circadian rhythms, lignification, and sugar synthesis and transport. Several transcripts that might be related to symptom development were identified. Collectively, these data give a much clearer picture of symptom development in ‘ Ca. P. pruni’-infected P. persica and provide several avenues for further research in determining how ‘ Ca. P. pruni’ interacts with its host to elicit the observed symptoms. [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 .
Recovery Plan for X-Disease in Stone Fruit Caused by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’
Stone fruits are a multibillion-dollar industry for the United States and Canada, one that has repeatedly suffered significant economic losses due to outbreaks of the X-disease phytoplasma (‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’) over the last century. Orchards and entire production areas have been abandoned, with corresponding losses to growers, fruit packers, and consumers. The most recent outbreak, in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, resulted in an estimated $65 million (USD) loss in revenue between 2015 and 2020 and is only increasing in incidence. Already present across much of the continental United States and Canada, the phytoplasma has a broad host range beyond stone fruit and is transmitted by at least eight leafhopper species, therefore stone fruit production in every state is at significant risk. This recovery plan was produced as part of the National Plant Disease Recovery System and is intended to provide a review of pathogen biology, assess the status of critical recovery components, and identify disease management research, extension, and education needs.
Effect of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ Infection on Sweet Cherry Fruit
In sweet cherry (Prunus avium), infection by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ results in small fruit with poor color and taste, rendering the fruit unmarketable. Yet the disease pathology is poorly understood, particularly at the cultivar level. Therefore, in this study we examined the physiological effects of Ca. P. pruni infection across a range of cultivars and locations in eastern Washington. We found that infection could be separated into early and established stages based on pathogen titer, which correlated with disease severity, including fruit size, color, and sugar and metabolite content. Furthermore, we observed that the effects of early-stage infections were largely indistinguishable from healthy, uninfected plants. Cultivar- and location-specific disease outcomes were observed with regard to size, color, sugar content, and citric acid content. This study presents the first in-depth assessment of X-disease symptoms and biochemical content of fruit from commercially grown sweet cherry cultivars known to be infected with Ca. P. pruni.
Search