Publications

3807

Murraya paniculata and Swinglea glutinosa are aurantioid hosts of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri, the principal vector of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (Las). Las is the pathogen associated with huanglongbing (HLB), the Asian form of which is the most devastating disease of Citrus species and cultivars (Rutaceae: Aurantioideae). M. paniculata is a common ornamental and S. glutinosa is grown as an ornamental, a citrus rootstock, and a hedgerow fence plant. Because of the uncertain status of these plants as reservoirs of Las, a series of cross-inoculation bioassays were carried out in different environments, using infected Valencia sweet orange (Citrus × aurantium) infected shoot tops as a source of inoculum and D. citri nymphs and adults reared on M. paniculata and S. glutinosa to inoculate pathogen-free Valencia orange plantlets. In contrast to sweet orange, Las was more unevenly distributed and reached much lower titers in M. paniculata and S. glutinosa. Infections in M. paniculata and S. glutinosa were also transient. Very few insects that successfully acquired Las from M. paniculata and S. glutinosa were able to transmit the pathogen to healthy citrus. Transmission rates were low from M. paniculata (1.0%) and S. glutinosa (2.0%) and occurred only in a controlled environment highly favorable to Las and ACP using 10-day-old adults that completed their life cycle on Las-positive plants. Our study showed that in HLB-endemic areas, M. paniculata and S. glutinosa can be deemed as epidemiologically dead-end hosts for Las and are not important alternative hosts of the pathogen for transmission to citrus. However, under a combination of conditions highly favorable to Las infection and transmission and in the absence of effective quarantine procedures, these plants could eventually serve as carriers of Las to regions currently free from HLB.

Huanglongbing (HLB) or greening currently is the most devastating citrus disease worldwide. The fastidious phloem-colonizing bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) is the causal agent of citrus HLB in Florida. Bactericides containing the active ingredient oxytetracycline (OTC) have been used in foliar spray to control citrus HLB in Florida since 2016. However, the minimum concentration of OTC required to suppress CLas in planta remains unknown. We developed a new method for evaluating the effects of OTC treatment on CLas titers in infected plants and determined the relationship between OTC residue levels and control levels achieved for CLas using mathematical modeling in greenhouse and field experiments. In both greenhouse and field, OTC spray did not reduce the titers of CLas, and it produced undetectable or mild levels of OTC residue in leaves within 7 days post-application (DPA). In greenhouse, OTC injection at 0.05 g per tree decreased CLas titers to an undetectable level (cycle threshold value ≥ 36.0) from 7 to 30 DPA and produced a residue level of OTC at 0.68 to 0.73 µg/g of fresh tissue over this period. In the field, OTC injection at 0.50 g per tree resulted in the decline of CLas titers by 1.52 log reduction from 14 to 60 DPA, with residue levels of OTC at 0.27 to 0.33 µg/g of fresh tissue. In both trials, a first-order compart model of OTC residue dynamics in leaves of trunk-injected trees was specified for estimating the retention of effective concentrations. Furthermore, nonlinear modeling revealed significant positive correlations between OTC residue levels in leaves and the control levels for CLas achieved. The results suggested that the minimum concentrations of OTC required to suppress CLas populations in planta to below the detection limit are 0.68 and 0.86 µg/g and that the minimum concentrations of OTC required for initial inhibition of CLas growth in planta are ∼0.17 and ∼0.215 µg/g in leaf tissues under greenhouse and field conditions, respectively. This finding highlights that a minimum concentration of OTC should be guaranteed to be delivered to target CLas in infected plants for effective control of citrus HLB.

Abstract Background The symbiosis between the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae, and Candidatus Erwinia dacicola has been demonstrated as essential for the fly’s larval development and adult physiology. The mass rearing of the olive fruit fly has been hindered by several issues, including problems which could be related to the lack of the symbiont, presumably due to preservatives and antibiotics currently used during rearing under laboratory conditions. To better understand the mechanisms underlying symbiont removal or loss during the rearing of lab colonies of the olive fruit fly, we performed experiments that focused on bacterial transfer from wild female flies to their eggs. In this research, eggs laid by wild females were treated with propionic acid solution, which is often used as an antifungal agent, a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and Triton X, or water (as a control). The presence of the bacterial symbiont on eggs was evaluated by real-time PCR and scanning electron microscopy. Results DGGE analysis showed a clear band with the same migration behavior present in all DGGE profiles but with a decreasing intensity. Molecular analyses performed by real-time PCR showed a significant reduction in Ca. E. dacicola abundance in eggs treated with propionic acid solution or a mixture of sodium hypochlorite and Triton X compared to those treated with water. In addition, the removal of bacteria from the surfaces of treated eggs was highlighted by scanning electron microscopy. Conclusions The results clearly indicate how the first phases of the colony-establishment process are important in maintaining the symbiont load in laboratory populations and suggest that the use of products with antimicrobial activity should be avoided. The results also suggest that alternative rearing procedures for the olive fruit fly should be investigated.

AbstractBois noir, a disease of the grapevine yellows complex, is associated with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ and transmitted to grapevines in open fields by the cixiids Hyalesthes obsoletus and Reptalus panzeri. In vine-growing areas where the population density of these vectors is low within the vineyard, the occurrence of bois noir implies the existence of alternative vectors. The aim of this study was to identify alternative vectors through screening of the Auchenorrhyncha community, phytoplasma typing by stamp gene sequence analyses, and transmission trials. During field activities, conducted in Northern Italy in a vineyard where the bois noir incidence was extremely high, nine potential alternative insect vectors were identified according to high abundance in the vineyard agro-ecosystem, high infection rate, and harbouring phytoplasma strains characterized by stamp gene sequence variants found also in symptomatic grapevines. Transmission trials coupled with molecular analyses showed that at least eight species (Aphrodes makarovi, Dicranotropis hamata, Dictyophara europaea, Euscelis incisus, Euscelidius variegatus, Laodelphax striatella, Philaenus spumarius, and Psammotettix alienus/confinis) are alternative vectors of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ to grapevines. These novel findings highlight that bois noir epidemiology in vineyard agro-ecosystems is more complex than previously known, opening up new perspectives in the disease management.

AbstractHuanglongbing (HLB) is a worldwide deadly citrus disease caused by the phloem-limited bacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) vectored by Asian citrus psyllids. In order to effectively manage this disease, it is crucial to understand the relationship among the bacterial isolates from different geographical locations. Whole genome sequencing approaches will provide more precise molecular characterization of the diversity among populations. Due to the lack of in vitro culture, obtaining the whole genome sequence of CLas is still a challenge, especially for medium to low titer samples. Hundreds of millions of sequencing reads are needed to get good coverage of CLas from an HLB positive citrus sample. In order to overcome this limitation, we present here a new method, Agilent SureSelect XT HS target enrichment, which can specifically enrich CLas from a metagenomic sample while greatly reducing cost and increasing whole genome coverage of the pathogen. In this study, the CLas genome was successfully sequenced with 99.3% genome coverage and over 72X sequencing coverage from low titer tissue samples (equivalent to 28.52 Cq using Li 16 S qPCR). More importantly, this method also effectively captures regions of diversity in the CLas genome, which provides precise molecular characterization of different strains.

Tripartite symbioses between anaerobic ciliated protists and their intracellular archaeal and bacterial symbionts are not uncommon, but most reports have been based mainly on microscopic observations. Deeper insights into the function, ecology, and evolution of these fascinating symbioses involving partners from all three domains of life have been hampered by the difficulties of culturing anaerobic ciliates in the laboratory and the frequent loss of their prokaryotic partners during long-term cultivation. In the present study, we report the isolation of an anaerobic scuticociliate, strain GW7, which has been stably maintained in our laboratory for more than 3 years without losing either of its endosymbionts. Unexpectedly, molecular characterization of the endosymbionts revealed that the bacterial partner of GW7 is phylogenetically related to intranuclear endosymbionts of aerobic ciliates. This strain will enable future genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses of the interactions in this tripartite symbiosis and a comparison with endosymbioses in aerobic ciliates.

Abstract Background The olive fly, Bactrocera oleae, is the most important insect pest in olive production, causing economic damage to olive crops worldwide. In addition to extensive research on B. oleae control methods, scientists have devoted much effort in the last century to understanding olive fly endosymbiosis with a bacterium eventually identified as Candidatus Erwinia dacicola. This bacterium plays a relevant role in olive fly fitness. It is vertically transmitted, and it benefits both larvae and adults in wild populations; however, the endosymbiont is not present in lab colonies, probably due to the antibiotics and preservatives required for the preparation of artificial diets. Endosymbiont transfer from wild B. oleae populations to laboratory-reared ones allows olive fly mass-rearing, thus producing more competitive flies for future Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) applications. Results We tested the hypothesis that Ca. E. dacicola might be transmitted from wild, naturally symbiotic adults to laboratory-reared flies. Several trials have been performed with different contamination sources of Ca. E. dacicola, such as ripe olives and gelled water contaminated by wild flies, wax domes containing eggs laid by wild females, cages dirtied by faeces dropped by wild flies and matings between lab and wild adults. PCR-DGGE, performed with the primer set 63F-GC/518R, demonstrated that the transfer of the endosymbiont from wild flies to lab-reared ones occurred only in the case of cohabitation. Conclusions Cohabitation of symbiotic wild flies and non-symbiotic lab flies allows the transfer of Ca. E. dacicola through adults. Moreover, PCR-DGGE performed with the primer set 63F-GC/518R was shown to be a consistent method for screening Ca. E. dacicola, also showing the potential to distinguish between the two haplotypes (htA and htB). This study represents the first successful attempt at horizontal transfer of Ca. E. dacicola and the first step in acquiring a better understanding of the endosymbiont physiology and its relationship with the olive fly. Our research also represents a starting point for the development of a laboratory symbiotic olive fly colony, improving perspectives for future applications of the Sterile Insect Technique.