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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #403928
Research Project: Developing New Potatoes with Improved Quality, Disease Resistance, and Nutritional Content

Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research

Title: New assays for rapid detection of beet leafhopper-associated plant pathogens, 'Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii', Beet curly top virus and Spiroplasma citri

Author
item Swisher Grimm, Kylie
item GORMAN, CHRISTOPHER - Washington State University
item Crosslin, James

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/6/2023
Publication Date: 12/12/2023
Citation: Swisher Grimm, K.D., Gorman, C., Crosslin, J. 2023. New assays for rapid detection of beet leafhopper-associated plant pathogens, 'Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii', Beet curly top virus and Spiroplasma citri. Plant Disease. 107(12):3958-3966. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-23-0769-RE.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-04-23-0769-RE

Interpretive Summary: The beet leafhopper is known to vector three pathogens that can cause serious economic damage to a variety of different crops in the northwest United States, including potato, bean, sugar beet, and carrot. USDA-ARS scientists from Prosser, Washington, worked with a scientist from Washington State University to develop novel assays for the rapid detection of these pathogens from insect and plant specimens. Four new assays were developed and validated using different reagents and equipment that will enable laboratories with variable access to molecular diagnostic equipment to assess pathogen presence in a timely and more sensitive manner. These tools can be used in both research studies and diagnostic laboratories to collectively improve our knowledge of beet leafhopper-associated pathogen presence and epidemiology.

Technical Abstract: The beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus, is an important pest of agricultural crops in the United States, where it transmits Beet curly top virus, Beet leafhopper-transmitted virescence agent phytoplasma and Spiroplasma citri to numerous crops, affecting yield and quality. Each of these pathogens have been linked to serious disease outbreaks within Washington State in the past century. To mitigate the risk of disease, growers target the beet leafhopper in their insect pest management programs. Knowledge of pathogen prevalence in beet leafhopper populations could help growers make better management decisions, but timely diagnostics is required. Four new assays were developed for the rapid detection of the beet leafhopper-associated pathogens. These include two assays that detect Beet leafhopper transmitted virescence agent, a duplex PCR assay that simultaneously detects Beet curly top virus and Spiroplasma citri, and a multiplex real-time PCR assay for the simultaneous detection of all three pathogens. These new tools will allow the rapid detection of beet leafhopper-associated pathogens in both plant and insect specimens and will have the potential to be used in diagnostic laboratories seeking to disseminate fast, accurate results to growers for implementation in their insect pest monitoring programs.