Evaluation of tree-injected oxytetracycline and antisense oligonucleotides targeting Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in citrus.

Background: Huanglongbing (HLB) is a systemic disease of citrus caused by the bacterial pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) that limits citrus production worldwide. CLas is an obligate bacterial pathogen that multiplies in citrus trees and in the insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. There is no cure for HLB currently and broad-spectrum antibiotics represent one possible therapeutic against disease symptoms.

Reduction of Wolbachia in Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) increases phytopathogen acquisition and decreases fitness.

Wolbachia pipientis is a maternally inherited intracellular bacterium that infects a wide range of arthropods. Wolbachia can have a significant impact on host biology and development, often due to its effects on reproduction. We investigated Wolbachia-mediated effects in the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, which transmits Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the causal agent of citrus greening disease.

DNA degradation in Haplaxius crudus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) and Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) on yellow sticky traps in Florida.

Lethal bronzing (LB) and huanglongbing (HLB) are harmful plant diseases causing significant economic losses in Florida agriculture. Both diseases are caused by bacteria that are transmitted by Hemipteran insect vectors. Accurate detection of pathogens within insect vectors can help provide a better understanding of disease epidemiology.

Annotation of putative circadian rhythm-associated genes in (Hemiptera: Liviidae).

The circadian rhythm involves multiple genes that generate an internal molecular clock, allowing organisms to anticipate environmental conditions produced by the Earth's rotation on its axis. Here, we present the results of the manual curation of 27 genes that are associated with circadian rhythm in the genome of the Asian citrus psyllid. This insect is the vector for the bacterial pathogen Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), the causal agent of citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing).

Foliar Antibiotic Treatment Reduces Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus Acquisition by the Asian Citrus Psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae), but Does not Reduce Tree Infection Rate.

Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, is the most destructive disease of cultivated citrus worldwide. Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the putative causal agent of HLB, is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae). In Florida, D.

Complete de novo assembly of Wolbachia endosymbiont of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) using long-read genome sequencing.

Wolbachia, a gram-negative [Formula: see text]-proteobacterium, is an endosymbiont found in some arthropods and nematodes. Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, the vector of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (CLas), are naturally infected with a strain of Wolbachia (wDi), which has been shown to colocalize with the bacteria pathogens CLas, the pathogen associated with huanglongbing (HLB) disease of citrus. The relationship between wDi and CLas is poorly understood in part because the complete genome of wDi has not been available.

Antibacterial FANA oligonucleotides as a novel approach for managing the Huanglongbing pathosystem.

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), a bacterium transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is the causal agent of citrus greening disease, or Huanglongbng (HLB). Currently, vector population suppression with insecticides and tree removal are the most effective strategies for managing the HLB pathosystem. In this study, we assessed the bactericidal capabilities of 2'-deoxy-2'-fluoro-D-arabinonucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides (FANA ASO) both in vitro and in vivo by (1) confirming their capacity to penetrate insect cells, (2) silencing bacterial essential genes, and (3) quantifying reductions in bacterial titer and D.

Comparative transcriptome analysis of thiamethoxam susceptible and resistant Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae), using RNA-sequencing.

Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), transmits the causal pathogen of huanglongbing and is a global pest of citrus. D. citri populations exhibit resistance to multiple insecticide modes of action in areas where these chemicals have been overused.

Near-Complete Genome Sequences of a Strain Isolated from Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (: ).

strains are one of three endosymbionts associated with the insect vector of " Liberibacter asiaticus," Kuwayama (: ). We report three near-complete genome sequences of samples of from (wDi), with sizes of 1,518,595, 1,542,468, and 1,538,523 bp.

Insecticide rotation scheme restores insecticide susceptibility in thiamethoxam-resistant field populations of Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), in Florida.

Background: We investigated rotation using insecticides with multiple modes of action as a resistance management strategy for Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), in Florida. The stability of thiamethoxam resistance was investigated in the laboratory by establishing populations of field-collected, resistant D. citri and rearing them under no insecticide exposure.

Peptide conjugated morpholinos for management of the huanglongbing pathosystem.

Background: 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (CLas) is the causal agent of the devastating citrus disease Huanglongbing (HLB) and is transmitted by the insect vector Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae). A potential approach for treating CLas infection is the use of synthetic nucleic acid-like oligomers to silence bacterial gene expression. Peptide conjugated morpholinos (PPMOs) targeting essential genes in CLas and the psyllid vector's endosymbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia (-Diaphorina, wDi), were evaluated using in vitro and in vivo assays.

Maternal Contribution of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus to Asian Citrus Psyllid (Hemiptera: Liviidae) Nymphs Through Oviposition Site Inoculation and Transovarial Transmission.

Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), transmits Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), the bacterial pathogen putatively responsible for citrus huanglongbing. Multiple studies have shown psyllids acquire Las more frequently, and are more likely to inoculate susceptible plants, when they acquire Las as nymphs. Understanding the transmission of Las to nymphs is critical to the Las lifecycle.

Induced Systemic Resistance Against Citrus Canker Disease by Rhizobacteria.

Citrus canker, caused by Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri, is an important citrus disease that causes significant economic losses worldwide. All commercial citrus varieties are susceptible to citrus canker.

Insecticide toxicity associated with detoxification enzymes and genes related to transcription of cuticular melanization among color morphs of Asian citrus psyllid.

The Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) is known to exhibit abdominal color polymorphisms. In the current study, susceptibility to four insecticides was compared among orange/yellow, blue/green and gray/brown color morphs of field collected D. citri.

Genetic variation and potential coinfection of Wolbachia among widespread Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) populations.

Wolbachia can profoundly influence the survival, reproduction, and defenses of insect hosts. These interactions could potentially be harnessed for managing pests or insect-transmitted diseases. Diaphorina citri Kuwayama is a phloem-feeding pest capable of transmitting the putative causal agent of citrus greening, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas).

Horizontal Transmission of Intracellular Insect Symbionts via Plants.

Experimental evidence is accumulating that endosymbionts of phytophagous insects may transmit horizontally via plants. Intracellular symbionts known for manipulating insect reproduction and altering fitness (, and bacterial parasite of the leafhopper ) have been found to travel from infected insects into plants. Other insects, either of the same or different species can acquire the symbiont from the plant through feeding, and in some cases transfer it to their progeny.

Bacterial phytopathogen infection disrupts belowground plant indirect defense mediated by tritrophic cascade.

Plants can defend themselves against herbivores through activation of defensive pathways and attraction of third-trophic-level predators and parasites. Trophic cascades that mediate interactions in the phytobiome are part of a larger dynamic including the pathogens of the plant itself, which are known to greatly influence plant defenses. As such, we investigated the impact of a phloem-limited bacterial pathogen, Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), in cultivated citrus rootstock on a well-studied belowground tritrophic interaction involving the attraction of an entomopathogenic nematode (EPN), , to their root-feeding insect hosts, larvae.

Innate immune system capabilities of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri.

Citrus production worldwide is currently threatened by Huanglongbing, or citrus greening disease. The associated pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. Annotation of the D.

Tale of the Huanglongbing Disease Pyramid in the Context of the Citrus Microbiome.

The Huanglongbing (HLB) disease pyramid is composed of Liberibacters, psyllid vectors, citrus hosts, and the environment. The epidemiological outcomes for Liberibacter-associated plant diseases are collectively determined by the inherent relationships among plant-Liberibacters-psyllids, and how various environmental factors affect plant-Liberibacter-psyllid interactions. Citrus-Liberibacter-psyllid interactions occur in a complex microbiome system.

Comparative proteomic analysis of hemolymph from uninfected and Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus-infected Diaphorina citri.

Hemolymph was characterized from Diaphorina citri adults infected with the phytopathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), and compared with that from uninfected psyllids. This study identified 5531 and 3220 peptides within infected and uninfected hemolymph using nano-LC-MS/MS. A reduced number of proteins were detected for D.

Annotation of the Asian Citrus Psyllid Genome Reveals a Reduced Innate Immune System.

Citrus production worldwide is currently facing significant losses due to citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing. The citrus greening bacteria, Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), is a persistent propagative pathogen transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae). Hemipterans characterized to date lack a number of insect immune genes, including those associated with the Imd pathway targeting Gram-negative bacteria.

Better Together: Association With ' Liberibacter Asiaticus' Increases the Reproductive Fitness of Its Insect Vector, (Hemiptera: Liviidae).

The duration of the evolutionary association between a pathogen and vector can be inferred based on the strength of their mutualistic interactions. A well-adapted pathogen is likely to confer some benefit or, at a minimum, exhibit low pathogenicity toward its host vector. Coevolution of the two toward a mutually beneficial association appears to have occurred between the citrus greening disease pathogen, Liberibacter asiaticus (Las), and its insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid, (Kuwayama).

Inter-Population Variability of Endosymbiont Densities in the Asian Citrus Psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama).

The Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama) is an insect pest capable of transmitting Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the causal agent of citrus greening in North America. D. citri also harbors three endosymbionts, Wolbachia, Candidatus Carsonella ruddii, and Candidatus Profftella armatura, which may influence D.