Preliminary survey on putative insect vectors for Rubus stunt phytoplasmas

Abstract

Phytoplasmas are cell wall‐less phytopathogenic bacteria which are associated with a disease in Rubus species known as Rubus stunt. Symptoms range from stunting, witches’ broom, small leaves, short internodes, enlarged sepals, phyllody and flower proliferation to fruit malformations. Phytoplasmas can be spread by vegetative propagation and by phloem‐feeding insect vectors. However, little is known about the spectrum and distribution of putative Rubus stunt insect vectors. In this study, a screening of putative insect vectors of Rubus stunt in raspberry plantations in southern and northern Germany was carried out during two successive years (2014 and 2015) with multiple sampling dates throughout the growing seasons. A total of 2,891 hemipteran insects were sorted, identified to family, genus or species level when possible, and a subset of 319 DNA samples containing a sum of 932 selected individuals representing all identified species, sampling locations and sampling dates were tested for phytoplasma DNA using qPCR. Altogether, eight DNA samples were positive for phytoplasma DNA, among them species from the genera Euscelidius, Macrosteles, Euscelis, Anaceratagalliaand Psammotettix. These data will form the basis for choosing and timing appropriate control measures against Rubus stunt and also for potential insect vector transmission experiments.

Presence of Cicadomorpha in olive orchards of Greece with special reference to Xylella fastidiosa vectors

“…Macrosteles quadripunctulatus and A. ribauti have been reported as vectors of ‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ (Battle, Altabella, Sabate, & Laviňa, ; Riedle‐Bauer, Sara, & Regner, ) which infects a wide range of wild and cultivated plants, while Fieberiella florii is a vector of ‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma mali’ which represents one of the most economically important threats to apple trees (Tedeschi & Alma, ). Furthermore, Arboridia adanae and Zygina rhamni are considered serious grape pests in Eastern Mediterranean regions and in Europe (Olivier et al, ) while various leafhoppers are vectors of phytoplasmas in Rubus species (Linck & Reineke, ). Lastly, it is worth stating that the species Anaconura acuticeps of the subfamily Deltocephalinae and the species A. adanae and Z. rhamni of the subfamily Typhlocybinae are recorded for the first time in Greece.…”

Leafhoppers as vectors of phytoplasma diseases in Canadian berry crops: a review in the face of climate change

“…1A). Few studies have reported leafhoppers in strawberries and raspberries (Linck and Reineke 2019). However, a new study from our group identified a high diversity of leafhoppers in strawberry fields (Plante et al 2023), evidence that the low number of reports might not be linked to host preference but probably to the economic importance of other crops and/or relevant phytoplasma diseases detected affecting those crops, and therefore, demanding primary studies (e.g., blueberry and lingonberry stunt phytoplasma diseases, grapevines yellows disease, and strawberry green petal disease) (Olivier et al 2014, Arocha-Rosete et al 2015, 2019, Pérez-López et al 2019, Hammond et al 2021, Brochu et al 2022, Plante et al 2023).…”

Known and Potential Invertebrate Vectors of Raspberry Viruses

“…Despite being reported as a common leafhopper on raspberry in the Netherlands [ 74 ], it has been noted from Germany and Italy that M. fuscula and other Macropsis spp. are quite rare on raspberry and blackberry [ 96 , 97 ].…”