ANALYSIS OF THE BACTERIAL COMMUNITY INHABITING GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER FOREGUT BY CULTURE-DEPENDENT TECHNIQUES AND DGGE

• Author(s): Dini-Andreote, Francisco; Lacava, Paulo; Miller, Thomas; Ramirez, Jose; Araujo, Welington; Azevedo, Jo?o; Parker, Jennifer;
• Abstract: The glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) is an important vector of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), the bacterial pathogen that causes several economically important plant diseases, including citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC), oleander leaf scorch (OLS) and Pierces disease (PD) of grapevines. In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the potential use of biological control agents to halt the spread of Xf. One such strategy is the exploration of symbiotic microorganisms to reduce the spread of the pathogen (symbiotic control). In a symbiotic control strategy a bacterium symbiont that occupies the same niche as the pathogen must be identified. The study of the bacterial community of GWSS foreguts by isolation and DGGE revealed the presence of several potential symbiotic candidates such as Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Methylobacterium sp. and Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens (C. flaccumfaciens). Members of genus Methylobacterium and C. flaccumfaciens are frequently isolated as endophytes from citrus plants with CVC symptoms and without disease symptoms. Recently, an interaction between Methylobacterium, C. flaccumfaciens and Xf was strongly indicated, reinforcing that these bacteria could interact inside the host plant and vector insect. In the future, the genus Methylobacterium and C. flaccumfaciens could be an interesting candidate in a strategy of symbiotic control to Xf.
• Publication Date: Nov 2006
• Journal: 2006 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium