Identification of a non-host plant of Xylella fastidiosa to rear healthy sharpshooter vectors

Rosangela Cristina Marucci,Helen Miquelote,Rodrigo Piacentini Paes de Almeida,Marcelo Pedreira de Miranda,João Roberto Spotti Lopes,Teresinha Augusta Giustolin

doi:10.1590/s0103-90162003000400010

Rosangela Cristina Marucci, Helen Miquelote + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-90162003000400010

Copy DOI

Abstract

Rearing leafhopper (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) vectors free of Xylella fastidiosa is a requirement for studies of various aspects of vector-pathogen interactions. The selection of a plant that allows vector development but not bacterial multiplication is desirable to produce healthy vectors. In this study, two leafhopper hosts, Vernonia condensata ('boldo') and Aloysia virgata ('lixeira') were needle inoculated with citrus and coffee strains of X. fastidiosa to evaluate if these plants support pathogen colonization. The inoculated plants did not present symptoms and the pathogen was not detected by culture and PCR tests, neither soon after inoculation (7-14 days) nor later, at 1, 4, 6 and 12 months after inoculation. To obtain healthy adults of the leafhopper vectors Acrogonia citrina, Bucephalogonia xanthophis, Dilobopterus costalimai, Homalodisca ignorata and Oncometopia facialis, early-instar nymphs were reared on V. condensata. X. fastidiosa was not detected in any of 175 adults obtained. V. condensata and A. virgata are nonpropagative hosts of X. fastidiosa and enable the production of healthy leafhoppers for vector studies.

Highlights

One of the limiting factors to the study of many vector-pathogen interactions is the development of an efficient rearing system to obtain pathogen-free insects
Diseases caused by the xylem-limited bacterium Xylella fastidiosa Wells et al fall within this category: vectors are difficult to be reared and the bacterium colonizes most of the hosts in which it is inoculated (Hill & Purcell, 1995; Freitag, 1951)
Two X. fastidiosa strains, CCT 6570 and CCT 6756, which cause citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) and coffee leaf scorch (CLS), respectively, were used for inoculation of the two plant species

Summary

Introduction

One of the limiting factors to the study of many vector-pathogen interactions is the development of an efficient rearing system to obtain pathogen-free insects. These two plant species were chosen as test plants and evaluated regarding the ability of two X. fastidiosa strains (citrus and coffee) to infect, multiply and survive in V. condensata and A. virgata. A report on the development of a sharpshooter rearing technique that uses these plants to produce non-infective vectors for transmission studies of X. fastidiosa is presented.

Results

Conclusion