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Title: EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS OF PLANT SPIROPLASMAS

Author
item FOISSAC, XAVIER - INRA BORDEAUX FRANCE
item DANET, J - INRA BORDEAUX FRANCE
item SAILLARD, COLLETTE - INRA BORDEAUX FRANCE
item WHITCOMB, ROBERT
item BOVE, JOSEPH - INRA BORDEAUX FRANCE

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/14/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Leafhoppers are important carriers or vectors of plant disease agents that cause millions of dollars of crop damage. Spiroplasmas are transmitted by leafhoppers and cause important diseases of citrus and maize, which are studied by many workers throughout the world. This book chapter provides transfer of technology from two major laboratories studying leafhopper transmission of mollicutes. The results will be of interest to entomologists and plant pathologists.

Technical Abstract: Although many spiroplasmas have been discovered to be associated with insects, only three spiroplasma species inhabit the phloem of plants, and are phytopathogenic. Because spiroplasmas have never been transmitted to plants mechanically, experimental infection must be accomplished by using leafhoppper vectors to inoculate plants. Three procedures can be used for experimental infection of the insect: (i) acquisition by feeding on infected plants; (ii) acquisition achieved by exposing noninfected leafhoppers to infected plants; (iii) acquisition as a result of feeding through parafilm membranes; and (iv) microinjection. Techniques for insect microinjection, membrane feeding, determination of insect infection rate, and trasmission to plants are presented.