Epidemiology of flavescence doree and hazelnut decline in Slovenia: geographical distribution and genetic diversity of the associated 16SrV phytoplasmas

Flavescence doree (FD) phytoplasma from 16SrV-C and -D subgroups cause severe damage to grapevines throughout Europe. This phytoplasma is transmitted from grapevine to grapevine by the sap-sucking leafhopper Scaphoideus titanus. European black alder and clematis serve as perennial plant reservoirs for 16SrV-C phytoplasma strains, and their host range has recently been extended to hazelnuts. In Slovenia, hazelnut orchards are declining due to 16SrV phytoplasma infections, where large populations of the non-autochthonous leafhopper Orientus ishidae have been observed. To better characterise the phytoplasma-induced decline of hazelnut and possible transmission fluxes between these orchards and grapevine, genetic diversity of 16SrV phytoplasmas in grapevine, hazelnut and leafhoppers was monitored from 2017 to 2022. The nucleotide sequence analysis was based on the map gene. The most prevalent map genotype in grapevine in all wine-growing regions of Slovenia was M54, which accounted for 84% of the 176 grapevines tested. Besides M54, other epidemic genotypes with lower frequency were M38 (6%), M51 (3%), M50 (2%) and M122 (1%). M38, M50 and M122 were also detected in infected cultivated hazelnuts and in specimens of O. ishidae leafhopper caught in declining hazelnut orchards. It suggests that this polyphagous vector could be responsible for phytoplasma infection in hazelnut orchards and possibly for some phytoplasma exchanges between hazelnuts and grapevine. We hereby describe new genotypes: M158 in grapevine as well as four never reported genotypes M159 to M162 in hazelnut. Of these four genotypes in hazelnut, one (M160) was also detected in O. ishidae. Analysis of additional genes of the new genotypes allowed us to assign them to the VmpA-III cluster, which corresponds to the 16SrV-C strains previously shown to be compatible with S. titanus transmission.

Automated summary

Flavescence doree (FD) phytoplasma from 16SrV-C and -D subgroups cause severe damage to grapevines throughout Europe. European black alder and clematis serve as perennial plant reservoirs for 16SrV-C phytoplasma strains, and their host range has recently been extended to hazelnuts. The decline of hazelnut orchards in Slovenia is attributed to 16SrV phytoplasma infections, possibly transmitted by the non-autochthonous leafhopper Orientus ishidae.