Maize Bushy Stunt Phytoplasma Favors Its Spread by Changing Host Preference of the Insect Vector.

Plant pathogenic bacteria may influence vector behavior by inducing physiological changes in host plants, with implications for their spread. Here, we studied the effects of maize bushy stunt phytoplasma (MBSP) on the host selection behavior of the leafhopper vector, (DeLong and Wolcott). Choice assays contrasting leaves of healthy (mock-inoculated) vs.

XadA2 Adhesin Decreases Biofilm Formation and Transmission of subsp. .

is a vector-borne bacterium that causes diseases in many plants of economic interest. The bacterium-vector initial interactions involve bacterial membrane-bound adhesins that mediate cell attachment to the foregut of insect vectors. We investigated the role of the afimbrial adhesin XadA2 in the binding and biofilm formation of subsp.