Transmission of phage by glassy-winged sharpshooters, a vector of Xylella fastidiosa
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Propagation of Homalodisca coagulata virus-01 via Homalodisca vitripennis Cell Culture
Published on: September 25, 2014
Tushar Suvra Bhowmick1, Mayukh Das1, Kevin M Heinz2
1Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; Center for Phage Technology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Abstract:
Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (Xff) is the causal agent of Pierce's Disease (PD) of grapevines and is vectored by the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS, Homalodisca vitripennis). Previously we have reported the development of a bacteriophage (phage) based biocontrol system for PD, but no information on insect transmission of phages has been reported. Here we communicate that laboratory reared GWSSs fed on cowpea plants (Vigna unguiculata subsp. unguiculata) harboring the virulent phage Paz were able to uptake of phage efficiently when the phage was present in high concentration, but were inefficient in transfer to plants.
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