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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #378466
Research Project: Management and Biology of Arthropod Pests and Arthropod-borne Plant Pathogens

Location: Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research

Title: Natural products: potential for HLB control

Author
item Ramsey, John - John
item Fleites, Laura
item Deblasio, Stacy
item Krasnoff, Stuart
item Howe, Kevin
item TRIMMER, MARK - Agrosource, Inc
item Shatters, Robert - Bob
item Heck, Michelle

Submitted to: Citrograph
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/14/2020
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Citrus growers need effective strategies for managing citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB). Although no infected trees have been found in commercial citrus groves in California to date, at least 1,700 infected trees have been identified on residential properties at this point in time. The presence and, therefore, the likely spread, of HLB within the state are a major concern for growers because of the mobility of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), the insect vector of citrus greening in the United States. Organic growers, in particular, seek HLB management strategies that do not rely on synthetic chemicals. This article describes a cooperative ARS project to identify antimicrobial agents, from plants or other organisms, with different killing modes of action that could effectively control citrus greening and/or prevent ACP from transmitting the pathogen to citrus trees.

Technical Abstract: The goal of this project was to identify natural, plant-derived antimicrobial compounds that could kill ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas), the bacterium associated with huanglongbing (HLB) in citrus. We identified multiple peptides produced by the legume plant, Medicago truncatula, that have antimicrobial activity; and, unexpectedly, we identified a fungal peptide that exhibited more potent antimicrobial activity than the legume-derived peptides. Our findings could offer California citrus growers a new and natural suite of options for preventing or treating HLB and/or preventing the spread of Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid [ACP]), which transmits CLas to citrus trees.