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Asymptomatic Phytoplasma Reveal a Novel and Troublesome Infection

Philip Donkersley,F. W. S. Silva,M. S. Alves,C. M. Carvalho,A. Al‐Sadi,S. Elliot

Published 2019 in Plant Diseases - Current Threats and Management Trends

ABSTRACT

Asymptomatic infections are by their nature challenging to study and even more difficult to monitor across broad geographical ranges, particularly as methods are reliant on expensive molecular techniques. The plant pathogen that causes Witches’ Broom disease of lime (Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia) is a major limiting factor in lime production across the Middle East and was recently detected in Brazil, but without the typical symptoms from the Middle East. Here, we discuss the difficulty of monitoring asymptomatic infections and highlight the threat posed by highlight future outbreaks. Asymptomatic infections have important implications for understanding the evolution of pathogens within perennial hosts. We use three model systems of asymptomatic infections: (i) a Phytoplasma and (ii) a bacterial infection of lime (Citrus aurantifolia) and (iii) an “out-group” Phytoplasma of Cassava (Manihot esculenta) to demonstrate consistency across divergent hosts. We found that although all plants in the study were intentionally infected, assays typically did not confirm this diagnosis. Emergent technologies monitoring gene expression could be used to both study novel biology associated with asymptomatic infections and develop monitoring technologies. We highlight the difficulty of monitoring asymptomatic infections in possible future outbreaks and have important implications for understanding the evolution of pathogens within perennial hosts.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2019

  • Venue

    Plant Diseases - Current Threats and Management Trends

  • Publication date

    2019-06-28

  • Fields of study

    Biology, Environmental Science

  • Identifiers
    DOI 10.5772/INTECHOPEN.86650
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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