Roles of stolbur phytoplasma and Reptalus panzeri (Cixiinae, Auchenorrhyncha) in the epidemiology of Maize redness in Serbia

Abstract

Maize redness (MR), a disease causing midrib, leaf and stalk reddening and abnormal ear development in maize, has been reported from Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria for 50 years. Recent epiphytotics reduced yields by 40%-90% in southern Banat, Serbia. MR was recently associated with the presence of the stolbur phytoplasma, although the epidemiology of the disease remained unknown. Diseased fields in southern Banat were surveyed for potential vectors of the phytoplasma during 2005 and 2006, and high populations of Reptalus panzeri were found. In affected fields, 20% of the R. panzeri individuals and 85% of symptomatic maize plants carried the stolbur phytoplasma. When stolbur phytoplasma-infected R. panzeri were introduced into insect-free mesh cages containing healthy maize plants, midrib and leaf reddening developed on 48% of plants and stolbur phytoplasma was detected in 90% of the symptomatic plants. No symptoms or phytoplasma-positive plants were found in cages without insects. These data indicate that MR symptoms are associated with the stolbur phytoplasma. Reptalus panzeri is both abundant in affected fields and can transmit the stolbur phytoplasma, indicating the insect is likely to be a major vector of MR.

Identification and biological traits of a planthopper from the genus Pentastiridius (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) adapted to an annual cropping rotation

“…However, detailed information on their ecology and biology is restricted to a few pests such as Hylalesthes obsoletus Signoret (Leclant, 1968;Sforza et al, 1999;Sharon et al, 2005;Johannesen et al, 2008) that transmits stolbur phytoplasma to a number of cultivated plant species (Fos et al, 1992;Maixner, 1994;Sforza, 1998). However the emergence and re-emergence of vector-transmitted diseases associated with plant pathogenic prokaryotes have recently promoted investigation on these fulgoroids that include an increasing number of potential vector species (Gatineau et al, 2001Bogoutdinov, 2003;Danet et al, 2003;Jovic et al, 2007).…”

Corn reddening: Half a century later

“…Poteškoće u radu sa ovim organizmima predstavlja činjenica da se ne mogu gajiti u kulturi i da moraju biti preneti sa zaražene na zdravu biljku insektima, kalemljenjem ili parazitnim biljkama (Weintraub Slika 1. Različiti efekti na klipu biljaka kukuruza zahvaćenih crvenilom Jović et al (2007Jović et al ( , 2009) su identifi kovali 33 vrste, ali su samo populacije cikade Reptalus panzeri Löw pokazivale karakteristike glavnog vektora. Prema istim autorima, faktori spoljašnje sredine imaju značajnu ulogu u pojavi i intenzitetu crvenila i ovom fenomenu posebno pogoduju ranije setve kukuruza, topla i suva leta.…”

Striking Diversity of vmp1 , a Variable Gene Encoding a Putative Membrane Protein of the Stolbur Phytoplasma

“…They are not organized in clusters as is the case for VPMA (14). As a molecular variable marker, vmp1 is currently being used to survey StolP isolates in the Euro-Mediterranean Basin where various insect vectors or different vector populations of the same insect species have been described (16,18,22,23). Preliminary data indicate that vmp1 RFLP and sequencing represent powerful typing markers to differentiate StolP isolates, but epidemiological studies with a large number of isolates collected from different plants or insect hosts need to be done to determine whether specific genotypes of this marker can be associated with specific insect vector populations, insect vector species, or plant hosts.…”

“…According to tuf gene typing, StolP genotype VKI is associated with nettles and genotype VKII is associated with bindweed (27), while no clear association between StolP genotypes or plant hosts and genetically distinct insect vector populations has yet been shown (22). StolP is naturally transmitted by polyphagous Fulgoromorpha planthoppers of the Cixiidae family such as Hyalesthes obsoletus Signoret (16,31,39), Pentastiridius leporinus Linnaeus (4,18), and Reptalus panzeri Löw (23). Interestingly the other phytoplasma species, members of the 16SrXII phylogenetic group, are also transmitted by Fulguromorpha planthoppers (1,30).…”