Agronomy and Crop Science

‘Candidatus Phytoplasma spp.’ are pathogenic bacteria that infect many plant species. ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pyri’, one of the members of the 16SrX group causes pear decline disease that adversely affects pear crops. To describe the prevalence of ‘Ca. P. pyri’ genotypes in the Czech Republic, 143 pear samples were collected from 41 locations including commercial orchards as well as trees along roads. Phytoplasma was detected by PCR in 115 samples, and it was possible to determine imp gene genotype in 84 samples. The most frequent genotypes were A1, B1, and C, which were identified in 71% of phytoplasma positive samples. ‘Ca. P. pyri’ was present either alone or as a mix of two populations in 88% of genotyped samples, and in another 6% of samples it was found in a mixed infection with ‘Ca. Phytoplasma mali’. A sole infection with ‘Ca. Phytoplasma mali’ was observed in 6% of samples. As for symptoms, 19% of symptomatic samples were found to be phytoplasma negative, and 74% of asymptomatic samples proved to be phytoplasma positive; leaf roll was more often observed in phytoplasma positive samples, while leaf narrowing rather indicated the absence of phytoplasma. The mildest symptoms were observed in samples infected with ‘Ca. P. pyri’ of the A1 imp genotype.

The lipopolysaccharides (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria trigger a nitrosative and oxidative burst in both animals and plants during pathogen invasion. Liberibacter crescens strain BT-1 is a surrogate for functional genomic studies of the uncultured pathogenic ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp. that are associated with severe diseases such as citrus greening and potato zebra chip. Structural determination of L. crescens LPS revealed the presence of a very long chain fatty acid modification. L. crescens LPS pretreatment suppressed growth of Xanthomonas perforans on nonhost tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana) and X. citri subsp. citri on host orange (Citrus sinensis), confirming bioactivity of L. crescens LPS in activation of systemic acquired resistance (SAR). L. crescens LPS elicited a rapid burst of nitric oxide (NO) in suspension cultured tobacco cells. Pharmacological inhibitor assays confirmed that arginine-utilizing NO synthase (NOS) activity was the primary source of NO generation elicited by L. crescens LPS. LPS treatment also resulted in biological markers of NO-mediated SAR activation, including an increase in the glutathione pool, callose deposition, and activation of the salicylic acid and azelaic acid (AzA) signaling networks. Transient expression of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ bacterioferritin comigratory protein (BCP) peroxiredoxin in tobacco compromised AzA signaling, a prerequisite for LPS-triggered SAR. Western blot analyses revealed that ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ BCP peroxiredoxin prevented peroxynitrite-mediated tyrosine nitration in tobacco. ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ BCP peroxiredoxin (i) attenuates NO-mediated SAR signaling and (ii) scavenges peroxynitrite radicals, which would facilitate repetitive cycles of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ acquisition and transmission by fecund psyllids throughout the limited flush period in citrus. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

Although the mitochondria retain all required enzymes for an intact tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, plants might shift the cyclic flux from the TCA cycle to an alternative noncyclic pathway via γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt under specific physiological conditions. We hypothesize that several genes may ease this noncyclic flux and contribute to the citrus response to the phytopathogenic bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’, the causal agent of Huanglongbing in citrus. To test this hypothesis, we used multiomics techniques (metabolomics, fluxomics, and transcriptomics) to investigate the potential roles of putative gab homologies from Valencia sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). Our findings showed that ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ significantly increased the endogenous GABA and succinate content but decreased ketoglutarate in infected citrus plants. Citrus genome harbors three putative gab genes, including amino-acid permease (also known as GABA permease; CsgabP), GABA transaminase (CsgabT), and succinate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase (also known as GABA dehydrogenase; CsgabD). The transcript levels of CsgabP, CsgabT, and CsgabD were upregulated in citrus leaves upon the infection with ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ and after the exogenous application of GABA or deuterium-labeled GABA isotope (GABA-D6). Moreover, our finding showed that exogenously applied GABA is quickly converted to succinate and fed into the TCA cycle. Likewise, the fluxomics study showed that GABA-D6 is rapidly metabolized to succinate-D4. Our work proved that GABA shunt and three predicated gab genes from citrus, support the upstream noncyclic flux toward succinate rather than an intact TCA cycle and contribute to citrus defense responses to ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .

AbstractThe black curry leaf psyllid, Diaphorina communis, is a host of the citrus pathogen, ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (‘CLas’). However, there is a paucity of information on its biology; hence, this study was conducted to evaluate survival and development on citrus, in this instance mandarin (Citrus reticulata) and curry leaf (Bergera koenigii), and transmission of ‘CLas’. Given its similarity with the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri), sequences of the COI and 16S genes were examined to see if they could distinguish molecularly between nymphs of these two species. Field and laboratory experiments showed that D. communis nymphs transferred to mandarin branches failed to survive. Adults could survive on flush growth of ‘CLas’‐infected mandarin trees; however, little oviposition took place, and the single resulting nymph did not survive to the second instar. These observations suggest that D. communis does not develop, or rarely develops on mandarin and possibly other Citrus spp. Curry leaf appears to be its preferred host, and complete development can take place, possibly exclusively, on this species. Studies on acquisition of ‘CLas’ by D. communis and possible transmission assessed in 2014 and 2015 using greenhouse‐grown curry leaf and mandarin seedlings with naturally infected mandarin stumps as a source of ‘CLas’ indicated a low acquisition rate of ‘CLas’. In addition, although D. communis can acquire ‘CLas’, it either cannot transmit it or transmission is limited, and the pathogen may not multiply within the insect. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that differences in COI and 16S regions may prove useful for differentiating between early instar D. communis and D. citri nymphs when fifth instar nymphs and adults are not present on host plants.

Huanglongbing (HLB) is currently the most devastating disease of citrus worldwide. Both bacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) and ‘Candidatus Liberibacter americanus’ (CLam) are associated with HLB in Brazil but with a strong prevalence of CLas over CLam. Conventionally, HLB management focuses on controlling the insect vector population (Diaphorina citri; also known as Asian citrus psyllid [ACP]) by spraying insecticides, an approach demonstrated to be mostly ineffective. Thus, development of novel, more efficient HLB control strategies is required. The multifunctional bacterial outer membrane protein OmpA is involved in several molecular processes between bacteria and their hosts and has been suggested as a target for bacterial control. Curiously, OmpA is absent in CLam in comparison with CLas, suggesting a possible role in host interaction. Therefore, in the current study, we have treated ACPs with different OmpA-derived peptides, aiming to evaluate acquisition of CLas by the insect vector. Treatment of psyllids with 5 µM of Pep1, Pep3, Pep5, and Pep6 in artificial diet significantly reduced the acquisition of CLas, whereas increasing the concentration of Pep5 and Pep6 to 50 µM abolished this process. In addition, in planta treatment with 50 µM of Pep6 also significantly decreased the acquisition of CLas, and sweet orange plants stably absorbed and maintained this peptide for as long as 3 months post the final application. Together, our results demonstrate the promising use of OmpA-derived peptides as a novel biotechnological tool to control CLas.

‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas), the devastating pathogen related to Huanglongbing (HLB), is a phloem-limited, fastidious, insect-borne bacterium. Rapid spread of HLB disease relies on CLas-efficient propagation in the vector, the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri, in a circulative manner. Understanding the intracellular lifecycle of CLas in psyllid midgut, the major organ for CLas transmission, is fundamental to improving current management strategies. Using a microscopic approach within CLas-infected insect midgut, we observed the entry of CLas into gut cells inside vesicles, termed Liberibacter-containing vacuoles (LCVs), by endocytosis. Endocytosis is followed by the formation of endoplasmic reticulum-related and replication permissive vacuoles (rLCVs). Additionally, we observed the formation of double membrane autophagosome-like structure, termed autophagy-related vacuole (aLCV). Vesicles containing CLas egress from aLCV and fuse with the cell membrane. Immunolocalization studies showed that CLas uses endocytosis- and exocytosis-like mechanisms that mediates bacterial invasion and egress. Upregulation of autophagy-related genes indicated subversion of host autophagy by CLas in psyllid vector to promote infection. These results indicate that CLas interacts with host cellular machineries to undergo a multistage intracellular cycle through endocytic, secretory, autophagic, and exocytic pathways via complex machineries. Potential tactics for HLB control can be made depending on further investigations on the knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of CLas intracellular cycle.

Huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease, is the most serious disease of citrus worldwide and is associated with plant infection by ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) and other Liberibacter species. CLas is transmitted by Diaphorina citri, the Asian citrus psyllid, in a circulative propagative manner. Circulative propagative transmission is a complex process comprising at least three steps: movement of the pathogen into vector tissues, translocation and replication of the pathogen within the vector host, and pathogen inoculation of a new host by the vector. In this work, we describe an excised leaf CLas acquisition assay, which enables precise measurements of CLas acquisition by D. citri in a streamlined laboratory assay. Briefly, healthy fourth and fifth instar D. citri nymphs acquire CLas from excised CLas-positive leaves, where the insects also complete their developmental cycle. CLas titer in the resulting adults is measured using quantitative PCR and CLas-specific 16S rRNA gene primers. We observed positive correlations between CLas titer in each leaf replicate and the CLas titer that developed in the insects after acquisition (rs = 0.78; P = 0.0002). This simple assay could be used to detect CLas acquisition phenotypes and their underlying genotypes, facilitate assessment of plant factors that impact acquisition, and screen for compounds that interfere with CLas acquisition by delivering these compounds through the excised leaf.