Citrus huanglongbing is the most destructive disease of citrus worldwide. It is spread by citrus psyllids and is associated with a low-titer, phloem-limited infection by any of three uncultured species of alpha-Proteobacteria, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus', 'Ca. L. americanus', and 'Ca. L. africanus'. A complete circular 'Ca. L. asiaticus' genome has been obtained by metagenomics, using the DNA extracted from a single 'Ca. L. asiaticus'-infected psyllid. The 1.23-Mb genome has an average 36.5% GC content. Annotation revealed a high percentage of genes involved in both cell motility (4.5%) and active transport in general (8.0%), which may contribute to its virulence. 'Ca. L. asiaticus' appears to have a limited ability for aerobic respiration and is likely auxotrophic for at least five amino acids. Consistent with its intracellular nature, 'Ca. L. asiaticus' lacks type III and type IV secretion systems as well as typical free-living or plant-colonizing extracellular degradative enzymes. 'Ca. L. asiaticus' appears to have all type I secretion system genes needed for both multidrug efflux and toxin effector secretion. Multi-protein phylogenetic analysis confirmed 'Ca. L. asiaticus' as an early-branching and highly divergent member of the family Rhizobiaceae. This is the first genome sequence of an uncultured alpha-proteobacteria that is both an intracellular plant pathogen and insect symbiont.

The Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), is an important pest of citrus because it transmits phloem-limited bacteria [Candidatus Liberibacter spp., notably Ca. L. asiaticus (LAS)] associated with huanglongbing (HLB; citrus greening disease), currently considered the world's most serious disease of citrus. Asian citrus psyllid transmits LAS in a persistent manner and, although the rate of LAS transmission by ACP individuals usually is low, HLB can spread rapidly in a citrus grove and the geographic range of the disease is expanding, threatening citrus industries in new areas. Intensive chemical control of ACP is the primary management strategy currently advocated for HLB, but this strategy is costly, unsustainable, and generally ineffective. The scientific community is searching aggressively for solutions to HLB on many fronts, but it could still be years before solutions are found and implemented. Plant resistance to LAS is one area of research being pursued, whereby traits that confer resistance are identified and incorporated into citrus germplasm through conventional or transgenic methods. It remains to be seen if a solution to HLB can be found that specifically targets ACP, but research on ACP has been stepped up in a number of areas, notably on ACP-LAS-plant interactions, on host plant resistance to ACP, and on molecular methods of silencing ACP genes to induce mortality or to block its ability to transmit HLB-causing bacteria. Advancements in these and other research areas may depend greatly on a better understanding of basic ACP biology and vector-pathogen-host plant interactions at the molecular, cellular, and community levels. Here, we present an updated review of ACP and HLB with an emphasis on the problem in Florida.

Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) is an important worldwide pest of citrus that vectors bacteria (Candidatus Liberibacter spp.) responsible for huanglongbing (citrus greening disease). We examined the behavioral responses of mated and unmated D. citri of both sexes to odors from host plants in a Y-tube olfactometer, with and without visual cues. The host plants tested were 'Duncan' grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macfayden), sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.), navel orange (C. sinensis L.), and Murraya paniculata L. Jack. Responses varied by plant species, psyllid sex and mating status, and the presence of a visual cue. Evidence of attraction generally was stronger in females and in mated individuals of both sexes relative to virgins. The presence of a visual cue typically enhanced attractiveness of olfactory cues; in no case did unmated individuals show evidence of attraction to host plant odors in the absence of avisual cue. In the absence of visual cues, mated females and males showed evidence of attraction only to odors from sour orange and navel orange, respectively. Psyllids exhibited anemotactic responses when assayed with plant odors alone but showed strong evidence of attraction only when olfactory and visual cues were combined, suggesting that olfactory cues facilitate orientation to host plants but may be insufficient alone. Antennal responses to citrus volatiles were confirmed by electroantennogram. The results reported here provide evidence that D. citri uses olfactory and visual cues in orientation to host plants and suggest the possibility of using plant volatiles in monitoring and management of this pest.