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Q&A ViewAttendees 6

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition 10-Minute Paper

Grad P-IE: Vectors

Relationships with wild host plants and psyllid vectors influence the persistence and spread of a unique genetic variant of Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum in California

Monday, November 1, 2021
9:36 AM - 9:48 AM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Meeting Room 108-110
In-Person Student Competition

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Jaimie Kenney

    Ph.D. Candidate
    University of California , Riverside
    Riverside, California

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Kerry Elizabeth Mauck

    Assistant Professor of Vector Biology
    UC Riverside
    Riverside, California

Psyllid-transmitted bacteria in the genus Candidatus Liberibacter pose a growing threat to agricultural production around the globe. However, our understanding of the ecological and biological factors influencing  the emergence and spread of these virulent pathogens in crop plants is still relatively limited. This is due in large part to a lack of research on the natural history of both Ca. Liberibacter and psyllid vectors beyond the borders of agriculture in natural ecosystems. We are addressing this critical knowledge gap by studying the biology and ecology of Ca. Liberibacter solanacearum (CLso) and its vector, the native potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli), in natural plant communities. In previous work, we determined that CLso and potato psyllids commonly associate with native, perennial nightshades growing on natural reserves in southern California. Here, we performed a follow-up field survey one year later to determine whether CLso infections may persist long-term in these long-lived, wild host plants. We complemented this work with weekly psyllid sampling to characterize the seasonal genetic diversity and CLso infection status of potato psyllid vectors visiting these native nightshade plants. The results of this work demonstrate the importance of understanding the dynamics of crop pathogens and their insect vectors beyond the borders of agriculture, in order to accurately infer the origins of insect-transmitted crop diseases and and assess the risk of future outbreaks.