What is it about?
We have tested a number of factors influencing the contamination of the sap-sucking bug D. citri by the Citrus Greening Disease pathogen bacteria. This disease is a major problem affecting the production of citrus (i.e. oranges, lemons) worldwide. It is also known as 'Hualongbing', or even 'Yellow Dragon Disease'. We demonstrate that younger insects are more likely to get infected when sucking sap from contaminated citrus plants, regardless of species. A mild temperature of 25oC also increased the chances of disease acquisition. The sap-sucking bugs get infected first within their gut, then the pathogens spread into their hemolymph, and finally start multiplying in their salivary glands. At that point, around 3 days after feeding from a contaminated plant, the bugs become infective. This is all demonstrated with PCR and qPCR, and plotted and analysed with R. All raw data and R script behind the analyses are freely provided with the manuscript.
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Why is it important?
The research is of central importance to describe how the disease spreads into the insect vector in crops. It allows producers to understand which conditions facilitate the spread of the disease in their crops. Designing more specific control measures and increasing precautions at certain conditions (e.g. perhaps during Spring season?) becomes easier when such details are understood.
Perspectives
I am so glad for having been invited to participate in such a project. This citrus disease is a serious issue I have seen in my home country -- Brazil, where it is known as 'Greening' -- as a young boy exploring farms. This serious disease has recently reached Asia, where it is seen as a great threat. Getting the chance to bridge my writing and R programming skills to assist my lab-savvy colleagues in Guangzhou to divulge this project marked an important moment of my career. We have worked and learnt so much on this. I hope this manuscript proves useful to many citrus-specialists worried about Hualongbing-Greening disease in between our distant research centres across the world.
Dr Eduardo G P Fox
IBCCF / UFRJ
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Host and environmental factors influencing ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ acquisition in Diaphorina citri, Pest Management Science, July 2018, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1002/ps.5060.
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