Suchergebnisse

The Aphrophoridae family contains important vectors of Xylella fastidiosa, a serious bacterial plant disease. In olive orchards, nymphs usually feed on the ground-cover vegetation. However, detailed information about their populations and host/non-host plants in some regions threatened by Xylella, such as the northeast of Portugal, is very limited. The goal of our work was to identify the vector species, nymphal development period, and their host and non-host herbaceous plants in olive orchards from northeastern Portugal. Ground-cover plant species hosting or not hosting nymphs were identified during the spring of 2017 to 2019 in olive orchards. Nymphal development period, nymph aggregation, and nymph's preferred feeding height of the ground-cover plants were recorded. The most abundant Aphrophoridae species was Philaenus spumarius followed by Neophilaenus sp. Nymphs developed from April to early May and showed a low number of individuals per foam (generally between one and three). They preferred the middle part of the plants. Philaenus spumarius feeds preferentially on Asteraceae and Fabaceae, and Neophilaenus sp. on Poaceae. Some abundant plants, such as Bromus diandrus, Astragalus pelecinus, Chrysanthemum segetum, Trifolium spp., Caryophyllaceae, and Brassicaceae, were barely colonized by Aphrophoridae nymphs. This knowledge is essential for the selection of the species composition of ground-cover vegetation to minimize the presence of vectors of X. fastidiosa in olive groves. ; This work was funded by European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement no. 727987 XF-ACTORS (Xylella fastidiosa Active Containment Through a multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy), and Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) the financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO UIDB/00690/2020. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The dangerous phytopathogenic bacteria Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al., 1987) has been recently detected in Portugal (January 2019). This disease is transmitted horizontally from infected to non-infected plants by xylem-feeders that belong to the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. The information available until now about natural enemies is reduced. In this work the potential natural enemies of Auchenorrhyncha eggs, the most susceptible stage, were studied during the autumn/winter of 2018/2019. For that, from November 2018 to February 2019 before the egg hatching, on a biweekly basis, 10 samples of 50 g of rests of the remaining vegetation in the ground cover, mainly Poaceae, were collected in an olive grove. In the laboratory, leaves, particularly the interior part of the blade which is a common oviposition location for spittlebugs, were observed under binocular stereoscope. Viable eggs were introduced in petri dishes until hatching. A total of 647 egg-laying masses and 8,222 eggs with a mean of 12.7 eggs per egg laying was recorded. Egg masses were characterised and the action of predation, parasitism and fungi were recorded. Eggs presenting signs of parasitism plus predation were more than 50%. Intact field eggs were kept in controlled conditions until hatching of nymphs and evolution. The parasitoids were identified as Paracentrobia sp. (Trichogrammatidae) being the first report for the genus in Portugal. These results constitute an important opportunity to control the main insect vectors of X. fastidiosa and containing its spread. ; This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme underGrant Agreement N. 727987 'Xylella fastidiosa Active Containment Through a multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy XF-ACTORS'. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Trioza erytreae, the African citrus psyllid, is a vector of Candidatus Liberibacter spp., the causal agent of the citrus greening disease or Huanglongbing (HLB). The spread of the vector throughout the Iberian Peninsula has been continuous since its introduction in mainland Spain in 2014. The patterns of host preference and feeding behaviour largely depend on olfactory cues. Understanding these patterns is crucial to prevent further dispersion and develop management measures against the pest. In this work, a series of settlement, olfactometric, probing, and feeding experiments were conducted to assess the host preference of T. erytreae for lemon or bitter orange plants. The settlement experiment provided evidence on the preference of both sexes of T. erytreae for lemon plants, whereas males did not show any significant choice pattern in the case of the olfactometric assays. Forty EPG variables were analysed to describe and compare the probing and feeding behaviour of T. erytreae on lemon and bitter orange plants. The EPG variables indicated that T. erytreae has some difficulties in accepting the phloem of bitter orange plants. This suggests that lemon plants would be a better source for the acquisition of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) by T. erytreae since the psyllid spends much longer periods feeding from the phloem on lemon than on bitter orange. ; Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. The authors are grateful to the European Union grant, programme H2020 entitled: PRE-HLB: Preventing HLB epidemics for ensuring citrus survival in Europe. H2020- SFS-2018–2 Topic SFS-05–2018-2019–2020—new and emerging risks to plant health (Project nº 817526) as well as to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020). ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is an invasive insect-borne pathogen, which causes lethal diseases to important crops including olives, citrus, almonds and grapes as well as numerous forest, ornamental, and uncultivated plants. Outbreaks of Xf-related plant diseases are currently occurring in the Mediterranean region, causing substantial losses to various agricultural sectors. Several models have recently been published to identify which regions are at highest risk in Europe; however, such models did not consider the insect vectors, which constitute the key driver of short-range Xf spread. We fitted bioclimatic species distribution models to depict the macroclimatic preferences of the meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius L. (1978) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae), the major epidemiologically relevant vector currently responsible for Xf spread in the Europe. Many regions of Western Europe and Mediterranean basin are predicted by models as highly climatically suitable for this vector, including all regions where severe Xf have occurred so far. Conversely, the driest and warmest areas of the Mediterranean basin are predicted as little suitable for P. spumarius. Models forecast that agricultural-important parts of the southern Mediterranean area might experience a substantial decrease in climatic suitability for P. spumarius by the period 2040–2060. Areas predicted as highly suitable just for the bacterium but not optimal for this vector are apparently still free of severe Xf outbreaks, suggesting that climate tolerances of P. spumarius might partly explain the current spatial pattern of Xf outbreaks in Europe and should always be considered in further risk assessments. ; Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work has been financially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Grant/Award Number: AGL2017-89604-R and the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements no. 635646 POnTE (Pest Organisms Threatening Europe), and no. 727987 XF-ACTORS (Xylella Fastidiosa Active Containment Through a multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy). The first author of this study was funded by the fellowship "Ayudas destinadas a la atracción de talento investigador de la Comunidad de Madrid". Daniele Cornara participation in this work was supported by a research grant in the frame of European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 835732 XYL-SPIT.

The vector-borne bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is responsible for Pierce's disease (PD), a lethal grapevine illness that originated in the Americas. The international plant trade is expanding the geographic range of this pathogen, posing a new threat to viticulture worldwide. To assess the potential incidence of PD, we have built a dynamic epidemiological model based on the response of 36-grapevine varieties to the pathogen in inoculation assays and on the vectors' distribution when this information is available. Key temperature-driven epidemiological processes, such as PD symptom development and recovery, are mechanistically modelled. Integrating into the model high-resolution spatiotemporal climatic data from 1981 onward and different infectivity (R0) scenarios, we show how the main wine-producing areas thrive mostly in non-risk, transient, or epidemic-risk zones with potentially low growth rates in PD incidence. Epidemic-risk zones with moderate to high growth rates are currently marginal outside the United States. However, a global expansion of epidemic-risk zones coupled with small increments in the disease growth rate is projected for 2050. Our study globally downscales the risk of PD establishment while highlighting the importance of considering climate variability, vector distribution and an invasive criterion in obtaining accurate risk maps to guide policy decision-making in plant health. ; The authors thank the Balearic Islands Official Plant Health Laboratory (LOSVIB) and acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through Grants RTI2018-095441-B-C22 (SuMaEco) (AGR and MAM) and RTI2018-093732-B-C22 (PACSS) (JJR) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by ERDF "A way of making Europe", MDM-2017-0711 (AGR, JG, JJR and MAM) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033; The Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Food of the Government of the Balearic Islands under Grant (MEPRO 11876/2019). MG received the grant Ayudas a la Atracción de Talento Investigador (Ref: 2018-T2/ ...

The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is an invasive insect-borne pathogen, which causes lethal diseases to important crops including olives, citrus, almonds and grapes as well as numerous forest, ornamental, and uncultivated plants. Outbreaks of Xf-related plant diseases are currently occurring in the Mediterranean region, causing substantial losses to various agricultural sectors. Several models have recently been published to identify which regions are at highest risk in Europe; however, such models did not consider the insect vectors, which constitute the key driver of short-range Xf spread. We fitted bioclimatic species distribution models to depict the macroclimatic preferences of the meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius L. (1978) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae), the major epidemiologically relevant vector currently responsible for Xf spread in the Europe. Many regions of Western Europe and Mediterranean basin are predicted by models as highly climatically suitable for this vector, including all regions where severe Xf have occurred so far. Conversely, the driest and warmest areas of the Mediterranean basin are predicted as little suitable for P. spumarius. Models forecast that agricultural-important parts of the southern Mediterranean area might experience a substantial decrease in climatic suitability for P. spumarius by the period 2040–2060. Areas predicted as highly suitable just for the bacterium but not optimal for this vector are apparently still free of severe Xf outbreaks, suggesting that climate tolerances of P. spumarius might partly explain the current spatial pattern of Xf outbreaks in Europe and should always be considered in further risk assessments. ; Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This work has been financially supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Grant/Award Number: AGL2017-89604-R and the European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements no. 635646 POnTE (Pest ...

The phytosanitary emergency caused by the spread of Xylella fastidiosa in the Mediterranean has raised demands for a better understanding of the ecology of its presumed and candidate insect vectors. Here, we present the results of a two-year survey carried out in olive groves across southern, eastern and Central Spain and northeastern Portugal. Several sampling methods were tested and compared to select the most appropriate to estimate population levels of potential vectors of X. fastidiosa. The spittlebugs Philaenus spumarius and Neophilaenus campestris (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) were the main species associated with olive groves. Both species were widely present on herbaceous ground vegetation within the olive groves; P. spumarius mainly associated with Asteraceae and N. campestris with Poaceae. Due to the patchy distribution of spittlebugs within the olive groves, sweep nets were the most effective and least time-consuming sampling method for the estimation of population size both in the ground cover and tree canopies. Trends in population density showed that spittlebugs can be abundant on ground vegetation but very rare on olive canopies. Spittlebugs disperse in late spring to non-cultivated hosts that act as natural reservoirs. In late fall, adults return to the olive groves for oviposition. However, olive trees may act as transient hosts for spittlebugs and high population densities of these insect vectors should be avoided in areas where X. fastidiosa is present. ; This work has been financially supported by European Union Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreements no. 635646 POnTE (Pest Organisms Threatening Europe), and no. 727987 XF-ACTORS (Xylella Fastidiosa Active Containment Through a multidisciplinary-Oriented Research Strategy). ; Peer reviewed

Psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) can transmit the phloem restricted bacterium 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso). In Europe, Lso causes severe losses to carrot and represents a threat to the potato industry. A rising concern is Lso transmission from carrot to potato and within potato, and this has driven the need for monitoring populations of psyllid species which could serve as vectors on both crops. This would provide a fundamental understanding of the epidemiology of Lso. Different sampling methods were used to survey populations of psyllid species in commercial carrot and potato fields in central and eastern mainland Spain from 2015 to 2017. Two psyllid species, Bactericera trigonica and Bactericera nigricornis were found on carrot and potato crops. In carrot fields the most abundant species was B. trigonica (occurring from crop emergence to harvest); whereas in potato crops the most abundant psyllid species was B. nigricornis. Depending on field location, the maximum psyllid populations occurred between June and October. Since B. nigricornis was found on both carrot and potato and is the only psyllid species able to feed and reproduce on both these crops in Europe, there is the potential risk of Lso transmission from carrot to potato. ; This project was supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 635646, POnTE (Pest Organisms Threatening Europe). First author was recipient of a PhD scholarship from the Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Inovación (Colciencias) from Colombia. ; Peer reviewed