Variation in xylem characteristics of botanical races of Persea americana and their potential influence on susceptibility to the pathogen Raffaelea lauricola

Abstract Avocado (Persea americana), an important fruit crop, is under threat from an invasive disease, laurel wilt. The pathogen, Raffaelea lauricola, spreads rapidly in the xylem of infected trees and causes a lethal vascular wilt. A previous study showed that variation in susceptibility to the disease exists among different races of avocado, with the West Indian race being most susceptible. To help elucidate potential explanations for differences in susceptibility, xylem characteristics were examined for fourteen avocado cultivars from the Guatemalan, Mexican, and West Indian botanical races. Samples of each cultivar were assessed for vessel size, vessel density, vessel aggregation, and xylem-specific potential hydraulic conductivity. The West Indian race had significantly greater mean vessel diameters, mean maximum vessel diameters, and xylem-specific potential hydraulic conductivities than the Guatemalan and Mexican races (p < 0.05), which in turn did not differ for any of these variables (p > 0.05). There were no significant differences among the races for vessel aggregation or vessel density. Cultivars of the Mexican and Guatemalan races generally had smaller mean vessel diameters, mean maximum vessel diameters, and mean xylem-specific potential hydraulic conductivities than the West Indian race; however, there was considerable variation among cultivars of the Mexican race. Statistically significant differences in vessel grouping indices and vessel solitary fractions were evident among some cultivars but to lesser extents than were found for vessel size. This study indicates that larger vessel diameters and greater potential hydraulic conductivities exist in the West Indian, compared with the Guatemalan and Mexican races. We suggest that these attributes may be contributing factors in the greater susceptibility to laurel wilt that is evident in the West Indian race.

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California Laurel Is Susceptible to Laurel Wilt Caused by Raffaelea lauricola

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-92-10-1469a ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 92 (10) ◽

pp. 1469-1469 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

S. W. Fraedrich

Keyword(s):

South Carolina ◽

West Coast ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Malt Extract ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

The West ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Redbay Ambrosia Beetle ◽

Branch Dieback

Extensive mortality of redbay (Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng.) has been observed in the southeastern United States since 2003. The mortality is due to laurel wilt caused by Raffaelea lauricola T. C. Harr., Fraedrich & Aghayeva, a fungal symbiont of the recently introduced redbay ambrosia beetle (RAB), Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (1,2). The wilt is known to affect other members of the Lauraceae including sassafras (Sassafras albidum (Nuttall) Nees) and avocado (Persea americana Mill.) (1,3). Two inoculation experiments were conducted to evaluate the susceptibility of California laurel (Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt.) to R. lauricola. Seedlings, averaging 73 cm high and 13 mm in diameter, were wounded with a drill bit (2.8 mm) to a depth of one-half the diameter of the stems. In each experiment, 10 seedlings were inoculated with one of two isolates of R. lauricola (five seedlings per isolate) obtained as previously described (1) from wilted redbays on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Fort George Island, Florida. In the first experiment, seedlings were inoculated with spore suspensions (0.1 ml) ranging from 1.9 to 2.3 × 106 spores/ml and produced as previously described (1). In the second experiment, seedlings were inoculated with mycelial plugs obtained from the edge of 10-day-old cultures growing on malt extract agar (MEA). Five seedlings in each experiment served as controls and were inoculated with sterile deionized water or plugs of sterile MEA. Inoculation points were wrapped with Parafilm M (Pechiney Plastic Packaging, Menasha, WI). Seedlings were grown in growth chambers (daytime temperature 26°C, nighttime 24°C, and a 15-h photoperiod) for 13 to 15 weeks. At the end of the first experiment, 7 of 10 seedlings inoculated with R. lauricola exhibited wilt that appeared as a dieback of a few to the majority of branches. Nine of the ten seedlings exhibited sapwood discoloration and the fungus was isolated from eight of these seedlings. At the end of the second experiment, 8 of 10 seedlings exhibited wilt that again appeared as a dieback of a few branches to most branches. All seedlings with wilt exhibited sapwood discoloration and the fungus was recovered from these seedlings. Two seedlings inoculated with R. lauricola exhibited no symptoms of disease and the fungus was not recovered. Control seedlings remained healthy in both experiments with no evidence of wilt or sapwood discoloration and R. lauricola was not isolated. These results indicate that California laurel is susceptible to laurel wilt caused by R. lauricola. Furthermore, the disease on California laurel may appear as a branch dieback affecting individual branches one at a time rather than a rapid wilt of the entire crown as is often observed in redbay (1). Currently, the RAB is not known to occur on the West Coast and it is also not known if this beetle is capable of attacking and producing brood on California laurel. Nonetheless, if the RAB and R. lauricola become established on the West Coast, laurel wilt could pose a serious threat to natural ecosystems as well as the avocado industry in California. References: (1) S. W. Fraedrich et al. Plant Dis. 92:215, 2008. (2) T. C. Harrington et al. Mycotaxon 104:399, 2008. (3) A. E. Mayfield, III et al. Plant Dis. 92:976, 2008.

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Laurel Wilt: Current and Potential Impacts and Possibilities for Prevention and Management

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12020181 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 181

Author(s):

Rabiu O. Olatinwo ◽

Stephen W. Fraedrich ◽

Albert E. Mayfield

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Tree Mortality ◽

The United States ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Important Species ◽

Invasive Insects ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Redbay Ambrosia Beetle ◽

The Impact

In recent years, outbreaks of nonnative invasive insects and pathogens have caused significant levels of tree mortality and disturbance in various forest ecosystems throughout the United States. Laurel wilt, caused by the pathogen Raffaelea lauricola (T.C. Harr., Fraedrich and Aghayeva) and the primary vector, the redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff), is a nonnative pest-disease complex first reported in the southeastern United States in 2002. Since then, it has spread across eleven southeastern states to date, killing hundreds of millions of trees in the plant family Lauraceae. Here, we examine the impacts of laurel wilt on selected vulnerable Lauraceae in the United States and discuss management methods for limiting geographic expansion and reducing impact. Although about 13 species belonging to the Lauraceae are indigenous to the United States, the highly susceptible members of the family to laurel wilt are the large tree species including redbay (Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng) and sassafras (Sassafras albidum (Nutt.) Nees), with a significant economic impact on the commercial production of avocado (Persea americana Mill.), an important species native to Central America grown in the United States. Preventing new introductions and mitigating the impact of previously introduced nonnative species are critically important to decelerate losses of forest habitat, genetic diversity, and overall ecosystem value.

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Raffaelea lauricola (laurel wilt).

10.1079/cpc.109424.20210104916 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Stephen Fraedrich

Keyword(s):

Solid Wood ◽

Persea Americana ◽

South Florida ◽

Florida Current ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Southeastern Usa ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Redbay Ambrosia Beetle ◽

The Usa

Abstract Laurel wilt is responsible for the death of hundreds of millions of redbay (Persea borbonia sensu lato) trees throughout the southeastern USA, and the disease is also having significant effects on other species such as sassafras (Sassafras albidum) in natural ecosystems and avocado (Persea americana) in commercial production areas of south Florida. Laurel wilt is caused by the pathogen Raffaelea lauricola, a fungal symbiont of the redbay ambrosia beetle, Xyleborus glabratus. Thus far, the disease is confined to members of the Lauraceae that are native to the USA, or native to such places as the Caribbean, Central America and Europe and grown in the USA. The beetle and fungus are native to Asia and were likely introduced with untreated solid wood packing material at Port Wentworth, Georgia in the early 2000s. Since that time laurel wilt has spread rapidly in the coastal plains of the southeastern USA, spreading north into central North Carolina, as far west as Texas, and reaching the southernmost counties of Florida. Current models suggest that X. glabratus can tolerate temperature conditions that occur throughout much of the eastern USA, and so the disease threatens sassafras throughout much of this region. The disease poses a threat to lauraceous species indigenous to other areas of the Americas as well as Europe and Africa.

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Sap flow, xylem anatomy and photosynthetic variables of three Persea species in response to laurel wilt

Tree Physiology ◽

10.1093/treephys/tpaa137 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Raiza Castillo-Argaez ◽

Aime Vazquez ◽

Joshua L Konkol ◽

Ana I Vargas ◽

Randy C Ploetz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tree Species ◽

Sap Flow ◽

Xylem Sap ◽

Forest Tree ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Xylem Vessel ◽

Xylem Anatomy ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Leaf Chlorophyll

Abstract Laurel wilt, a lethal vascular wilt disease caused by the fungus Raffaelea lauricola, affects several tree species in the Lauraceae, including three Persea species. The susceptibility to laurel wilt of two forest tree species native to the southern United States, Persea borbonia and Persea palustris, and avocado, Persea americana cv Waldin, was examined and related to tree physiology and xylem anatomy. Net CO2 assimilation (A), stomatal conductance (gs), leaf chlorophyll index (LCI), leaf chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), xylem sap flow, theoretical stem hydraulic conductivity (Kh) and xylem vessel anatomy were assessed in trees of each species that were inoculated with R. lauricola and in control trees. Laurel wilt caused a reduction in A, gs, LCI, Fv/Fm, and blockage of xylem vessels by tyloses formation that negatively impacted Kh, and sap flow in all Persea species. However, disease susceptibility as indicated by canopy wilting and sapwood discoloration was less pronounced in P. americana cv Waldin than in the two forest species. Xylem vessel diameter was significantly smaller in P. borbonia and P. palustris than in P. americana cv Waldin. Differences in laurel wilt susceptibility among species appears to be influenced by physiological and anatomical tree responses.

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Evaluation of Visible-Near Infrared Reflectance Spectra of Avocado Leaves as a Non-destructive Sensing Tool for Detection of Laurel Wilt

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-01-12-0030-re ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 96 (11) ◽

pp. 1683-1689 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Sindhuja Sankaran ◽

Reza Ehsani ◽

Sharon A. Inch ◽

Randy C. Ploetz

Keyword(s):

Discriminant Analysis ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Principal Component ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Near Infrared Reflectance ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Linear Discriminant ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Non Destructive

Laurel wilt, caused by the fungus Raffaelea lauricola, affects the growth, development, and productivity of avocado, Persea americana. This study evaluated the potential of visible-near infrared spectroscopy for non-destructive sensing of this disease. The symptoms of laurel wilt are visually similar to those caused by freeze damage (leaf necrosis). In this work, we performed classification studies with visible-near infrared spectra of asymptomatic and symptomatic leaves from infected plants, as well as leaves from freeze-damaged and healthy plants, both of which were non-infected. The principal component scores computed from principal component analysis were used as input features in four classifiers: linear discriminant analysis, quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), Naïve-Bayes classifier, and bagged decision trees (BDT). Among the classifiers, QDA and BDT resulted in classification accuracies of higher than 94% when classifying asymptomatic leaves from infected plants. All of the classifiers were able to discriminate symptomatic-infected leaves from freeze-damaged leaves. However, the false negatives mainly resulted from asymptomatic-infected leaves being classified as healthy. Analyses of average vegetation indices of freeze-damaged, healthy (non-infected), asymptomatic-infected, and symptomatic-infected leaves indicated that the normalized difference vegetation index and the simple ratio index were statistically different.

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Potential Economic Impact of Laurel Wilt Disease on the Florida Avocado Industry

HortTechnology ◽

10.21273/horttech.20.1.234 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 234-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Edward A. Evans ◽

Jonathan Crane ◽

Alan Hodges ◽

Jason L. Osborne

Keyword(s):

Regional Economy ◽

Impact Analysis ◽

Control Measure ◽

Wilt Disease ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Economic Losses ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Laurel Wilt Disease ◽

The Impact

This article describes and provides preliminary estimates of the potential economic losses that could result from an incursion of the recently discovered exotic laurel wilt disease caused by Raffaelea lauricola, in the main avocado (Persea americana) growing area of Florida. Estimates are provided for the direct losses as well as the indirect or “spillover” losses that could occur across the rest of the regional economy. The Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN) input-output multipliers were used in assessing the regional impacts. The results of the investigation indicate that the direct loss to the industry in terms of lost sales, property damage, and increased management costs could range from $356 million in a do-nothing situation to about $183 million if damage control measure were 50% effective. If increased management costs and decreased property values are ignored, the adverse impact on the regional economy could range from $54 million in a do-nothing situation to $27 million in a case in which the treatments result in only a 50% reduction in avocado production.

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Comparing Avocado, Swamp Bay, and Camphortree as Hosts of Raffaelea lauricola Using a Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)-Labeled Strain of the Pathogen

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-02-16-0072-r ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 107 (1) ◽

pp. 70-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

A. S. Campbell ◽

R. C. Ploetz ◽

J. A. Rollins

Keyword(s):

Green Fluorescent Protein ◽

Fluorescent Protein ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Xyleborus Glabratus ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

The Family ◽

Pathogen Colonization ◽

Green Fluorescent

Raffaelea lauricola, a fungal symbiont of the ambrosia beetle Xyleborus glabratus, causes laurel wilt in members of the Lauraceae plant family. North American species in the family, such as avocado (Persea americana) and swamp bay (P. palustris), are particularly susceptible to laurel wilt, whereas the Asian camphortree (Cinnamomum camphora) is relatively tolerant. To determine whether susceptibility is related to pathogen colonization, a green fluorescent protein-labeled strain of R. lauricola was generated and used to inoculate avocado, swamp bay, and camphortree. Trees were harvested 3, 10, and 30 days after inoculation (DAI), and disease severity was rated on a 1-to-10 scale. By 30 DAI, avocado and swamp bay developed significantly more severe disease than camphortree (mean severities of 6.8 and 5.5 versus 1.6, P < 0.003). The extent of xylem colonization was recorded as the percentage of lumena that were colonized by the pathogen. More xylem was colonized in avocado than camphortree (0.9% versus 0.1%, P < 0.03) but colonization in swamp bay (0.4%) did not differ significantly from either host. Although there were significant correlations between xylem colonization and laurel wilt severity in avocado (r = 0.74), swamp bay (r = 0.82), and camphortree (r = 0.87), even severely affected trees of all species were scarcely colonized by the pathogen.

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Impact of Laurel Wilt, Caused by Raffaelea lauricola, on Leaf Gas Exchange and Xylem Sap Flow in Avocado, Persea americana

Phytopathology ◽

10.1094/phyto-07-14-0196-r ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 105 (4) ◽

pp. 433-440 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Randy C. Ploetz ◽

Bruce Schaffer ◽

Ana I. Vargas ◽

Joshua L. Konkol ◽

Juanpablo Salvatierra ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sap Flow ◽

Leaf Gas Exchange ◽

Xylem Sap ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Flow Rates ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Xylem Sap Flow ◽

Individual Trees

Laurel wilt, caused by Raffaelea lauricola, is a destructive disease of avocado (Persea americana). The susceptibility of different cultivars and races was examined previously but more information is needed on how this host responds to the disease. In the present study, net CO2 assimilation (A), stomatal conductance of H2O (gs), transpiration (E), water use efficiency (WUE), and xylem sap flow rates were assessed in cultivars that differed in susceptibility. After artificial inoculation with R. lauricola, there was a close relationship between symptom development and reductions in A, gs, E, WUE, and mean daily sap flow in the most susceptible cultivar, ‘Russell’, and significantly greater disease and lower A, gs, E, WUE, and sap flow rates were usually detected after 15 days compared with the more tolerant ‘Brogdon’ and ‘Marcus Pumpkin’. Significant differences in preinoculation A, gs, E, and WUE were generally not detected among the cultivars but preinoculation sap flow rates were greater in Russell than in Brogdon and Marcus Pumpkin. Preinoculation sap flow rates and symptom severity for individual trees were correlated at the end of an experiment (r = 0.46), indicating that a plant’s susceptibility to laurel wilt was related to its ability to conduct water. The potential management of this disease with clonal rootstocks that reduce sap flow rates is discussed.

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Responses of swamp bay,Persea palustris, and avocado,Persea americana, to various concentrations of the laurel wilt pathogen,Raffaelea lauricola

Forest Pathology ◽

10.1111/efp.12134 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 111-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

M. A. Hughes ◽

S. A. Inch ◽

R. C. Ploetz ◽

H. L. Er ◽

A. H. C. van Bruggen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Persea Americana ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola

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Laurel Wilt, Caused by Raffaelea lauricola, is Confirmed in Miami-Dade County, Center of Florida's Commercial Avocado Production

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pdis-08-11-0633 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 95 (12) ◽

pp. 1589-1589 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

R. C. Ploetz ◽

J. E. Peña ◽

J. A. Smith ◽

T. J. Dreaden ◽

J. H. Crane ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Pcr Primers ◽

The United States ◽

Small Subunit ◽

Rapid Identification ◽

Persea Americana ◽

Dade County ◽

Laurel Wilt ◽

Xyleborus Glabratus ◽

Raffaelea Lauricola

Laurel wilt, caused by Raffaelea lauricola, threatens native and nonnative species in the Lauraceae in the southeastern United States, including the important commercial crop, avocado, Persea americana (2,4). Although the pathogen's vector, Xyleborus glabratus, was detected in Miami-Dade County, FL in January 2010, laurel wilt had not been reported (4). In February 2011, symptoms of the disease were observed on native swampbay, P. palustris, in Miami-Dade County (25°72′N, 80°48′W). Externally, foliage was brown, necrotic, and did not abscise; internally, sapwood was streaked with dark gray-to-bluish discoloration; and, in dead trees, holes of natal galleries of the vector from which columns of frass were attached were evident. On a semiselective medium for R. lauricola, a fungus with the pathogen's phenotype was isolated from symptomatic sapwood. Colonies were slow growing, light cream in color, with dendritic, closely appressed mycelium and often a slimy surface. A representative strain of the fungus was further identified with PCR primers for diagnostic small subunit (SSU) rDNA (1) and its SSU sequence (100% match, GenBank Accession No. JN578863). In each of two experiments, plants of ‘Simmonds’ avocado, the most important cultivar in Florida, were inoculated with three strains of the fungus, as described previously (3). Symptoms of laurel wilt developed in all inoculated plants and the fungus was recovered from each. After aerial and further ground surveys, additional symptomatic swampbay trees, some of which had defoliated, were detected in the vicinity of the original site. Since swampbay defoliates only a year or more after symptoms develop (4), the 2010 detection of X. glabratus may have coincided with an undetected presence of the disease. As of July 2011, a 6-km-diameter disease focus was evident in the area, the southernmost edge of which is 5 km from the nearest commercial avocado orchard. In August 2011, a dooryard avocado tree immediately north of the above focus was affected by laurel wilt, and an SSU sequence confirmed the involvement of R. lauricola (GenBank Accession No. JN613280). The outbreak of laurel wilt in Miami-Dade County represents a 150 km southerly jump in the distribution of this disease in the United States ( http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/foresthealth/laurelwilt/dist_map.shtml ) and is the first time this disease has been found in close proximity to Florida's primary commercial avocado production area. Approximately 98% of the state's commercial avocados, worth nearly $54 million per year, are produced in Miami-Dade County. Since effective fungicidal and insecticidal measures have not been developed for large, fruit-bearing trees, mitigation efforts will focus on the rapid identification and destruction of infected trees (3,4). References: (1) T. J. Dreaden et al. Phytopathology 98:S48, 2008. (2) S. W. Fraedrich et al. Plant Dis. 92:215, 2008. (3) R. C. Ploetz et al. Plant Dis. 95:977, 2011. (4) R. C. Ploetz et al. Recovery Plan for Laurel Wilt of Avocado. National Plant Disease Recovery System, USDA, ARS, 2011.

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