Competitive Interactions Between Whitefly and Aphid Transmitted Poleroviruses within the Plant Host and the Insect Vectors

Author(s):  
Vinicius Henrique Bello ◽  
Saptarshi Ghosh ◽  
Renate Krause-Sakate ◽  
Murad Ghanim

Pepper cultivation in Israel has recently been constrained by two sympatric poleroviruses, Pepper vein yellows virus-2 (PeVYV-2) and Pepper whitefly-borne vein yellows virus (PeWBVYV) which are transmitted specifically by aphids and whiteflies, respectively. The interaction between PeVYV-2 and PeWBVYV inside the host plant and the insect vectors were investigated in this study. Our results show that PeVYV-2 and PeWBVYV compete against each other inside the host plant and also inside aphids. PeWBVYV was the weaker competitor inside the host plant with diminished transmission rates when inoculated simultaneously or successively after PeVYV-2 and could only be transmitted efficiently when inoculated first and then challenged by PeVYV-2. Successive inoculations of plants with viruliferous whiteflies with PeWBVYV, followed by viruliferous aphids with PeVYV-2 led to co-infection rate of 60%, however with severely reduced titers of PeWBVYV in the co-infected plants compared to singly infected ones. In contrast, PeVYV-2 was the weaker competitor inside the insect vector with reduced quantities of the acquired virus and reduced transmission rate by aphids when given prior acquisition on PeWBVYV. However, we also show that transmission efficiency of PeVYV-2 and PeWBVYV from co-infected plants by whiteflies and aphids remain comparable to that from singly-infected plants. This is probably due to the reduced titers of PeWBVYV inside co-infected plants causing lesser impact on transmission of PeVYV-2 by aphids and the stronger competitiveness of PeWBVYV inside whitefly. Competitive interactions between PeVYV-2 and PeWBVYV inside the host plant and insect vector can thus be beneficial for their co-existence.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Killiny

Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), currently is the most destructive disease of citrus. HLB disease is putatively caused by the phloem-restricted α-proteobacterium, ‛Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’. This bacterium is primarily transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae). Most animal pathogens are considered pathogenic to their insect vectors, whereas the relationships between plant pathogens and their insect vectors are variable. Lately, the relationship of ‛Ca. L. asiaticus’ with its insect vector, D. citri was well investigated at the molecular, biochemical, and biological levels in many studies. Herein, the findings concerning this relationship are discussed and molecular features of the acquisition of ‛Ca. L. asiaticus’ from the plant host and its growth and circulation within D. citri, as well as its transmission to plants, are presented. In addition, the effects of ‛Ca. L. asiaticus’ on the energy metabolism (respiration, TCA cycle, the ATP production), metabolic pathways, immune system, endosymbionts, and detoxification enzymes of D. citri are discussed together with other impacts such as shorter lifespan, altered feeding behavior, and higher fecundity. Overall, although ‛Ca. L. asiaticus’ has significant negative effects on its insect vector, it increases its vector fitness, indicating that it develops a mutualistic relationship with its vector. This review will help in understanding the specific interactions between ‛Ca. L. asiaticus’ and its psyllid vector in order to design innovative management strategies.


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiujuan Wu ◽  
Jian Ye

Plant viruses pose serious threats to stable crop yield. The majority of them are transmitted by insects, which cause secondary damage to the plant host from the herbivore-vector’s infestation. What is worse, a successful plant virus evolves multiple strategies to manipulate host defenses to promote the population of the insect vector and thereby furthers the disease pandemic. Jasmonate (JA) and its derivatives (JAs) are lipid-based phytohormones with similar structures to animal prostaglandins, conferring plant defenses against various biotic and abiotic challenges, especially pathogens and herbivores. For survival, plant viruses and herbivores have evolved strategies to convergently target JA signaling. Here, we review the roles of JA signaling in the tripartite interactions among plant, virus, and insect vectors, with a focus on the molecular and biochemical mechanisms that drive vector-borne plant viral diseases. This knowledge is essential for the further design and development of effective strategies to protect viral damages, thereby increasing crop yield and food security.


2001 ◽  
Vol 91 (11) ◽  
pp. 1024-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenro Oshima ◽  
Toshiki Shiomi ◽  
Tsutomu Kuboyama ◽  
Toshimi Sawayanagi ◽  
Hisashi Nishigawa ◽  
...  

Two lines of onion yellows phytoplasma producing milder symptoms were isolated from the original line (OY-W). One has an additional characteristic, non-insect-transmissibility (OY-NIM), compared with the other (OY-M). OY-M was established after maintaining OY-W for 11 years on a plant host (Chrysanthemum coronarium) with an insect vector (Macrosteles striifrons), and OY-NIM was isolated after subsequent maintenance of OY-M in plants by periodic grafting. Polymerase chain analysis suggested that OY-NIM cannot traverse the gut or survive in the hemolymph of the leafhopper. OY-W results in witches'-broom formation and stunted growth in the host plant. In contrast, OY-M and OY-NIM do not cause stunting in the host plant, although they result in witches'-broom. Histopathological analysis of these lines revealed that the hyperplastic phloem tissue and severe phloem necrosis seen in OY-W did not exist in OY-M and OY-NIM. This was attributed to a reduction in the population of phytoplasma in tissues in both OY-M- and OY-NIM-infected plants. The results suggest that the cause of stunting and phloem hyperplasia may be genetically different from the cause of witches'-broom. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that OY-M had a smaller genome size (≈870 kbp) than OY-W (≈1,000 kbp). Thus, some of the OY-W genes responsible for pathogenicity may not be present in OY-M.


2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 567-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muqing Zhang ◽  
Charles A. Powell ◽  
Ying Guo ◽  
Melissa S. Doud ◽  
Yongping Duan

Huanglongbing (HLB) is the most devastating disease of citrus. The global citrus industry is in urgent need of effective chemical treatments for HLB control because of its rapid spreading worldwide. Due to the fastidious nature of the pathogens, and the poor permissibility of citrus leaf surfaces, effective screening of chemicals for the HLB control can be challenging. In this study, we developed a graft-based chemotherapy method to rapidly screen potential HLB-controlling chemical compounds. In addition, we improved transmission efficiency by using the best HLB-affected scion–rootstock combination, and demonstrated the HLB bacterial titer was the critical factor in transmission. The HLB-affected lemon scions had a high titer of HLB bacterium, survival rate (83.3%), and pathogen transmission rate (59.9%). Trifoliate, a widely used commercial rootstock, had the highest survival rate (>70.0%) compared with grapefruit (52.6%) and sour orange (50.4%). Using this method, we confirmed a mixture of penicillin and streptomycin was the most effective compounds in eliminating the HLB bacterium from the HLB-affected scions, and in successfully rescuing severely HLB-affected citrus germplasms. These findings are useful not only for chemical treatments but also for graft-based transmission studies in HLB and other Liberibacter diseases.


1997 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 989 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Pathipanawat ◽  
R. A. C. Jones ◽  
K. Sivasithamparam

Factors likely to influence rates of transmission of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) through seed to seedlings of annual medics (Medicago spp.) and genetic control of the magnitude of its seed transmission rate were investigated in plants from 17 early-flowering accessions of M. polymorpha and in progenies of crosses involving M. murex cv. Zodiac × accession 5320 as parents. Plants were graft-inoculated when 6 weeks old to ensure successful and uniform infection. To exclude variation in seed transmission rates due to virus isolate or temperature, only 1 AMV isolate was used and the plants were kept under uniform temperature conditions. In M. polymorpha, significant differences were found between accessions in the levels of AMV transmitted through seed to progeny seedlings, SA 8250 giving the highest mean level of seed transmission (52%) and SA 4188 the lowest (3%). Neither virus concentration nor symptom severity influenced the rates of seed transmission obtained. However, part of the variation in seed transmission rates found in these accessions was related to their flowering times, seed transmission rates increasing as the interval between inoculation and owering increased. In seed samples collected from individual graft-inoculated plants of M. murex from (i) the F2 generation from crosses and reciprocal crosses, and (ii) the backcross progenies, the rates of transmission of AMV through seed to seedlings ranged from 0 to 77% and showed a continuous pattern of variation. Also, there was evidence of transgressive segregation for the low seed transmission rate condition. This indicates that the low seed transmission rate condition for AMV in medics is quantitatively inherited and under polygenic control. In contrast, when the pods from F2 progeny plants from the crosses and reciprocal crosses were examined, the segregation ratios obtained revealed that the smooth pod character from parent accession 5320 was controlled by a single recessive gene, for which the name sp is proposed. The presence in a plant of gene sp, or of its spiny pod-determining allele from the other parent cv. Zodiac, was not correlated with low seed transmission rates of AMV. It is concluded that selection for low rates of seed transmission and a population breeding approach can be used to produce improved M. polymorpha and M. murex cultivars with good resistance to seed-borne AMV


Author(s):  
Andrea Maugeri ◽  
Martina Barchitta ◽  
Sebastiano Battiato ◽  
Antonella Agodi

Italy was the first country in Europe which imposed control measures of travel restrictions, quarantine and contact precautions to tackle the epidemic spread of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in all its regions. While such efforts are still ongoing, uncertainties regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmissibility and ascertainment of cases make it difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of restrictions. Here, we employed a Susceptible-Exposed-Infectious-Recovered-Dead (SEIRD) model to assess SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics, working on the number of reported patients in intensive care unit (ICU) and deaths in Sicily (Italy), from 24 February to 13 April. Overall, we obtained a good fit between estimated and reported data, with a fraction of unreported SARS-CoV-2 cases (18.4%; 95%CI = 0–34.0%) before 10 March lockdown. Interestingly, we estimated that transmission rate in the community was reduced by 32% (95%CI = 23–42%) after the first set of restrictions, and by 80% (95%CI = 70–89%) after those adopted on 23 March. Thus, our estimates delineated the characteristics of SARS-CoV2 epidemic before restrictions taking into account unreported data. Moreover, our findings suggested that transmission rates were reduced after the adoption of control measures. However, we cannot evaluate whether part of this reduction might be attributable to other unmeasured factors, and hence further research and more accurate data are needed to understand the extent to which restrictions contributed to the epidemic control.


Plant Disease ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 69 (8) ◽  
pp. 706 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland G. Timian

2012 ◽  
Vol 78 (17) ◽  
pp. 6327-6336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valdir R. Correa ◽  
Doris R. Majerczak ◽  
El-Desouky Ammar ◽  
Massimo Merighi ◽  
Richard C. Pratt ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPlant- and animal-pathogenic bacteria utilize phylogenetically distinct type III secretion systems (T3SS) that produce needle-like injectisomes or pili for the delivery of effector proteins into host cells.Pantoea stewartiisubsp.stewartii(herein referred to asP. stewartii), the causative agent of Stewart's bacterial wilt and leaf blight of maize, carries phylogenetically distinct T3SSs. In addition to an Hrc-Hrp T3SS, known to be essential for maize pathogenesis,P. stewartiihas a second T3SS (Pantoeasecretion island 2 [PSI-2]) that is required for persistence in its flea beetle vector,Chaetocnema pulicaria(Melsh). PSI-2 belongs to the Inv-Mxi-Spa T3SS family, typically found in animal pathogens. Mutagenesis of the PSI-2psaNgene, which encodes an ATPase essential for secretion of T3SS effectors by the injectisome, greatly reduces both the persistence ofP. stewartiiin flea beetle guts and the beetle's ability to transmitP. stewartiito maize. Ectopic expression of thepsaNgene complements these phenotypes. In addition, the PSI-2psaNgene is not required forP. stewartiipathogenesis of maize and is transcriptionally upregulated in insects compared to maize tissues. Thus, the Hrp and PSI-2 T3SSs play different roles in the life cycle ofP. stewartiias it alternates between its insect vector and plant host.


2016 ◽  
Vol 106 (11) ◽  
pp. 1285-1290 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cornara ◽  
A. Sicard ◽  
A. R. Zeilinger ◽  
F. Porcelli ◽  
A. H. Purcell ◽  
...  

There is little information available on Xylella fastidiosa transmission by spittlebugs (Hemiptera, Cercopoidea). This group of insect vectors may be of epidemiological relevance in certain diseases, so it is important to better understand the basic parameters of X. fastidiosa transmission by spittlebugs. We used grapevines as a host plant and the aphrophorid Philaenus spumarius as a vector to estimate the effect of plant access time on X. fastidiosa transmission to plants; in addition, bacterial population estimates in the heads of vectors were determined and correlated with plant infection status. Results show that transmission efficiency of X. fastidiosa by P. spumarius increased with plant access time, similarly to insect vectors in another family (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae). Furthermore, a positive correlation between pathogen populations in P. spumarius and transmission to plants was observed. Bacterial populations in insects were one to two orders of magnitude lower than those observed in leafhopper vectors, and population size peaked within 3 days of plant access period. These results suggest that P. spumarius has either a limited number of sites in the foregut that may be colonized, or that fluid dynamics in the mouthparts of these insects is different from that in leafhoppers. Altogether our results indicate that X. fastidiosa transmission by spittlebugs is similar to that by leafhoppers. In addition, the relationship between cell numbers in vectors and plant infection may have under-appreciated consequences to pathogen spread.


2014 ◽  
Vol 610 ◽  
pp. 910-914
Author(s):  
Bin Wang ◽  
Hao Meng ◽  
Shen Yong Li

This paper briefly analyses the routing establishing process of AODV and points out its imperfection, proposes the AODV routing establishing principle based on SNR. The Network delay and data throughput of the improved AODV have all been improved as simulation results proves. Finally the conclusion was given, illustrating that the improvement avoids the bad influence to the transmission rate of the whole link, which brings by low SNR node, and increases the data transmission efficiency.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document