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Pierce's Disease
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What is Pierce's Disease?

Pierce's Disease is a bacterial infection, which is spread by bugs that feed on grapevines, particularly the "glassy winged sharpshooter." Grapevines that become infected with PD can quickly become sick and die.

glassy-winged sharpshooter

GENETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF GONATOCERUS TUBERCULIFEMUR FROM SOUTH AMERICA UNCOVERS DIVERGENT CLADES: PROSPECTIVE EGG PARASITOID CANDIDATE AGENT FOR THE GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER IN CALIFORNIA

  • Author(s): de Le?n, Jesse; Logarzo, Guillermo; Triapitsyn, Serguei; Morgan, David;
  • Abstract: In present study we genetically characterized the prospective South American egg parasitoid candidate, Gonatocerus tuberculifemur (Ogloblin) of the glassy-winged sharsphooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) [=H. coagulata (Say)] for a neoclassical biological control program in California. Two molecular methods, inter-simple sequence repeat-polymerase chain reaction (ISSR-PCR) DNA fingerprinting and a phylogeographic approach inferred by the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI). Five geographic populations from South America were analyzed; in addition, a phylogenetic analysis was performed with several named and two unnamed Gonatocerus Nees species. DNA fingerprinting uncovered a fixed geographic banding pattern difference in the population from San Rafael, Mendoza Province, Argentina. The COI analysis uncovered haplotype or geographic structure in G. tuberculifemur. A neighbor-joining distance tree clustered the populations into two well-supported distinct clades with very strong bootstrap values (96-100%) with the population from San Rafael clustering into a separate clade than the rest of the South American populations. No haplotype sharing was observed between individuals from the two clades. A phylogenetic analysis performed by the neighbor-joining method of 15 Gonatocerus Nees species confirmed species boundaries and again uncovered two distinct clades in G. tuberculifemur with very strong bootstrap support (96-100%). The two molecular methods were in accord and the evidence is suggestive of a species level divergence. Because G. tuberculifemur is under consideration as a potential biological control agent for the invasive GWSS in California, understanding possible cryptic variation of this species is critical.
  • Publication Date: Nov 2006
  • Journal: 2006 Pierce's Disease Research Symposium

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