Identification of Plant DNA in Adults of the Phytoplasma Vector Cacopsylla picta Helps Understanding Its Feeding Behavior.

ABSTRACT: Apple proliferation is an economically important disease and a threat for commercial apple cultivation. The causative pathogen, the bacterium 'Candidatus Phytoplasma mali', is mainly transmitted by Cacopsylla picta, a phloem-feeding insect that develops on the apple tree (Malus spp.). To investigate the feeding behavior of adults of the phytoplasma vector Cacopsylla picta in more detail, we used deep sequencing technology to identify plant-specific DNA ingested by the insect. Adult psyllids were collected in different apple orchards in the Trentino-South Tyrol region of northern Italy. DNA from the whole body of the insect was extracted and analyzed for the presence of plant DNA by performing PCR with two plant-specific primers that target the chloroplast region

SUBMITTER: Barthel D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7761314 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature