Alternative vector of lethal yellowing disease in Jamaica

Lethal yellowing (LY) is a fatal phytoplasma disease of palms caused by ’Candidatus Phytoplasma palmae’ and was first reported in Jamaica. LY has caused significant economic loss to the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) industries in Jamaica and Florida. Haplaxius crudus (Van Duzee) (Hemiptera: Cixiidae, previously known as Myndus crudus), the American cixiid planthopper, is the principal vector of LY based on the results of transmission assays that were conducted in Florida. However, attempts to replicate the transmission assays of the phytoplasma by H. crudus failed in other geographic regions, including Jamaica. Therefore, this has raised the question of whether other insects serve as vectors for LY phytoplasma in Jamaica.
In this study, three species of auchenorrhynchan insects, H. crudus, Oecleus mackaspringi, and Nymphomyndus caribbea, were collected in palm nurseries in Jamaica to evaluate their potential as vectors of the LY phytoplasma. Four bodies and five head parts of O. mackaspringi tested positive for the presence of the LY phytoplasma, while none of the specimens of the other two species tested positive. Based on the nested PCR and digital PCR assays, the newly described cixiid planthopper, O. mackaspringi, was proposed as a new potential vector of LY phytoplasma. The potential role of O. mackaspringi in the relation to the LY phytoplasma needs to be further investigated by conducting transmission assays.