Haplaxius crudus transmission of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmae’ to coconut seedlings in Cuba Paredes-Tomás Camilo1,*, Luis-Pantoja Maritza1, Rodríguez-Tapia Jorge Luis1, Bertaccini Assunta2 1Research Institute of Tropical Fruit Crops, La Habana, Cuba 2Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, Department of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Bologna, Italy *Corresponding author e-mail: Camilo Paredes-Tomás (camptomas1@gmail.com)
Online Published on 11 January, 2024. Abstract Lethal yellowing comprises the coconut lethal yellowing as one of the most important diseases affecting coconut plantations worldwide. In Cuba, it was associated predominantly with phytoplasmas of the group 16SrIV detected in symptomatic coconut palms but in some cases, these phytoplasmas were in mixed infection with phytoplasmas from other ribosomal groups. During recent surveys to verify the phytoplasma presence, Haplaxius crudus leafhoppers were predominantly found in the coconut agrosystems of the western region of Cuba, where coconut plantations are mainly located. Two transmission tests were carried out to determine the phytoplasma transmission by H. crudus under Cuba conditions. Coconut seedlings showed leaf yellowing 10 month after the insect inoculation and their associated pool of insects tested positive for ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmae’ presence. Virtual RFLP, sequencing and phylogenetic analyses confirmed the phytoplasma identity and the first experimental H. crudus transmission of ‘Ca. P. palmae’ to coconut seedlings in Cuba. Top Keywords Lethal yellowing, Insect vector, Transmission trials. Top |