Phytoplasmas are unculturable bacterial plant pathogens transmitted by phloem-feeding hemipteran insects. DNA of phytoplasmas is difficult to purify because of their exclusive phloem location and low abundance in plants. To overcome this constraint, suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) was modified and used to selectively amplify DNA of the stolbur phytoplasma infecting a periwinkle plan...

Phytoplasmas such as "Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni," the causal agent of X-disease of stone fruits, lack detailed biological analysis. This has limited the understanding of plant resistance mechanisms. Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana L.) is a promising model to be used for the plant-phytoplasma interaction due to its documented ability to resist X-disease infection. A consensus chokecherry genet...

The two acknowledged vectors of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’ in north-western Italy, the psyllid Cacopsylla melanoneura and the leafhopper Fieberiella florii, have been compared to highlight their role in the apple proliferation epidemiology in relation to their infectivity, transmission efficiency and permanence in apple orchards and in wild vegetation, predominantly hawthorn formations. The ...

Antibacterial properties of plasma activated water (PAW) were investigated in two plant pathosystems: Xanthomonas vesicatoria (Xv) infected tomato plants and ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ infected periwinkle micropropagated shoots. Bacterial leaf spot severity caused by Xv was reduced and a reduced symptomatology and lack of bacterial colony formation in PAW treated periwinkle micropropagate...

Analyses of space-time statistical features of a flavescence dorée (FD) epidemic in Vitis vinifera plants are presented. FD spread was surveyed from 2011 to 2015 in a vineyard of 17,500 m2 surface area in the Piemonte region, Italy; count and position of symptomatic plants were used to test the hypothesis of epidemic Complete Spatial Randomness and isotropicity in the space-time static (year-by...

Phytoplasmas, biotrophic wall-less prokaryotes, only reside in sieve elements of their host plants. The essentials of the intimate interaction between phytoplasmas and their hosts are poorly understood, which calls for research on potential ultrastructural modifications. We investigated modifications of the sieve-element ultrastructure induced in tomato plants by 'Candidatus Phytoplasma solani,...

Complex multi-trophic interactions in vectorborne diseases limit our understanding and ability to predict outbreaks. Arthropod-vectored pathogens are especially problematic, with the potential for novel interspecific interactions during invasions. Variations and novelties in plant-arthropod-pathogen triumvirates present significant threats to global food security. We examined aspects of a phyto...

Fig (Ficus carica) trees exhibited symptoms of little leaf, mottling and deformation in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. Poylmerase chain reaction (PCR) through direct nested-PCR, phylogeny based on the sequence analysis revealed that infecting agent was closely related to ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’ (16SrII-B subgroup). This is first report Ca. P. aurantifolia fig

Witches' broom of lime is a disease caused by Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia, which represents the most significant global threat to the production of lime trees (Citrus aurantifolia). Conventional disease management strategies have shown little success, and new approaches based on genetic engineering need to be considered. The expression of recombinant antibodies and fragments thereof in ...