Pierce's Disease of Grapevines in Taiwan: Isolation, Cultivation and Pathogenicity ofXylella fastidiosa

Xylophagous leafhopppers are common and abundant insects of tropical and subtropical environments and play important ecological roles in these ecosystems. The feeding biology of these insects is unique in terms of their high feeding rates and a digestive physiology that allows them to assimilate amino acids, organic acids, and sugars at approximately 99% efficiency. For those species well studied, fluctuations in plant xylem chemistry and tension appear to determine the diurnal and seasonal use of their host plants. Relatively few species of xylem fluid-feeding leafhoppers are considered important pests in commercial agriculture, as they transmit the bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa. X. fastidiosa induces diseases of grapevines, citrus, coffee, almond, alfalfa, stone fruits, landscape ornamentals, and native hardwoods for which there is no cure. Two Xylella diseases, citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) and Pierce's disease (PD) of grapevines, have emerged as important issues within the past decade. In Brazil, CVC became important in the early 1990s and has now expanded throughout many citrus-growing areas of South America and threatens to spread to North America. The recent establishment of the exotic glassy-winged sharpshooter (Homalodisca coagulata) in California now threatens much of the United States' wine grape, table grape, and almond production. The spread of H. coagulata throughout southern California and the spread of CVC northward from Argentina through Brazil exemplifies the biological risks from exotic species. The occurrence and epidemiology of leafhopper-vectored Xylella diseases are discussed.

The phylogenetic relationships of all validly described species of the genus Xanthomonas and the type strain of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia were analyzed by sequencing and comparing 16S ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs). The two genera exhibited a mean sequence similarity value of 96.6%, corresponding to differences at 50 nucleotide positions on average. The species of the genus Xanthomonas exhibited relatively high levels of overall sequence similarity; the mean similarity value was 98.2%, which corresponds to an average of 14 mutual nucleotide differences. Within the genus Xanthomonas, a group containing Xanthomonas albilineans, Xanthomonas hyacinthi, Xanthomonas theicola, and Xanthomonas translucens clustered apart from the main Xanthomonas core, whereas Xanthomonas sacchari formed a third phylogenetic lineage. Due to the very restricted variability in 16S rDNA sequences within the genus Xanthomonas, rDNA signatures that have possible diagnostic value for differentiating the Xanthomonas species could not be determined with certainty. When sequence similarities were compared with DNA-DNA pairing data determined previously, there was only a limited correlation. This illustrates the different resolving powers of the techniques for determining phylogenetic hierarchies and for species delineation.