Acquisition and Transmission of 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' Differs Among Wolbachia-Infected and -Uninfected Haplotypes of Bactericera cockerelli

'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) causes disease symptoms and economic losses in potato, tomato, and other solanaceous crops in North America. Lso is transmitted to plants by the potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli, which occurs as distinct haplotypes named western, central, and northwestern that differ in the presence or absence of the bacterial endosymbiont, Wolbachia. Previous work showed that all three vector haplotypes can transmit Lso, but it was not clear whether acquisition and transmission rates of Lso were equal among the haplotypes. The goal of our study was to compare Lso infection rates among psyllids of the western, central, and northwestern haplotypes. Using data collected from several years of periodic testing of Lso infection of laboratory-reared potato psyllid colonies, we showed that psyllids of the western and central haplotypes are more likely to harbor Lso than are psyllids of the northwestern haplotype. We then used greenhouse assays to demonstrate that psyllids of the northwestern haplotype are less likely to acquire and transmit Lso than those of the western haplotype. Lso infection rates corresponded with Wolbachia infection among the three psyllid haplotypes. The Wolbachia-infected central and western haplotypes were more likely to harbor and transmit Lso than the Wolbachia-free northwestern haplotype. Results demonstrate that potato psyllids of the western and central haplotypes pose a greater risk for spread of Lso in crops and suggest a pattern between infection with Lso and Wolbachia in potato psyllid.

Automated summary

‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso) is a pathogen that causes disease and economic losses in solanaceous crops in North America, transmitted by the potato psyllid. Three distinct haplotypes of the psyllid (western, central, and northwestern) were found to differ in their rates of Lso infection. The presence of the bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia correlates with higher Lso infection rates in the western and central haplotypes, while the northwestern haplotype had lower rates.