Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages
ABSTRACT Psyllids (Psylloidea) are host-specific, phloem-feeding insects that are associated with the transmission of destructive plant diseases caused by the bacterial genus “Candidatus Liberibacter”. While psyllid-liberibacter interactions have been studied in great detail, most research mainly fo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Society for Microbiology
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Microbiology Spectrum |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.01228-25 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850038005524332544 |
|---|---|
| author | Reun-Ping Goh Yi-Chang Liao Man-Miao Yang Chia-Ching Chu |
| author_facet | Reun-Ping Goh Yi-Chang Liao Man-Miao Yang Chia-Ching Chu |
| author_sort | Reun-Ping Goh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Psyllids (Psylloidea) are host-specific, phloem-feeding insects that are associated with the transmission of destructive plant diseases caused by the bacterial genus “Candidatus Liberibacter”. While psyllid-liberibacter interactions have been studied in great detail, most research mainly focused on species associated with important crop diseases. Therefore, a more general understanding of the associations between these two groups of organisms remains limited. The present study investigated the occurrence of infection by “Ca. Liberibacter” across undercharacterized psyllid lineages in Taiwan. Samples of 46 psyllid species, representing six of the seven known Psylloidea families from host plants spanning 22 families, were obtained. The presence of “Ca. Liberibacter” in adult psyllid DNA samples was determined by PCRs targeting 16S rDNA of “Ca. Liberibacter”. PCR tests amplifying mitochondrial 16S DNA of the psyllids were also carried out for quality confirmation. The assays detected “Ca. Liberibacter” in five of the psyllid species tested, namely Calophya nigridorsalis, Homotoma radiata, Cacopsylla tobirae, Epipsylla albolineata, and Trioza quadrimaculata. BLASTn searches and phylogenetic analysis on near-full-length 16S rDNA sequences identified the strain detected in C. tobirae as “Ca. Liberibacter europaeus” and showed that E. albolineata carried a strain closely related to a “Ca. Liberibacter” strain found in Bhutan, while the remaining detected strains could potentially be novel “Ca. Liberibacter” species. The findings from this study showed that a large diversity of “Ca. Liberibacter” could exist among underexplored psyllid and plant species, opening new avenues for investigating the ecology of “Ca. Liberibacter”.IMPORTANCEBacteria of the genus “Candidatus Liberibacter” can cause some of the most devastating plant diseases. Gaining a broader perspective on the diversity of associations between these bacteria and their psyllid vectors is crucial for both fundamental and applicative purposes. By taking advantage of the biological diversity in Taiwan, the present study conducted one of the broadest surveys on the presence of “Ca. Liberibacter” in psyllids, in terms of the diversities of the psyllids examined. The data from this work indicated that previously unknown “Ca. Liberibacter” genotypes and perhaps even novel species may be more prevalent among psyllid species than previously known. These findings highlight the potential importance of exploring psyllid-liberibacter associations from a broader ecological perspective. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8b88b411b198447fbb89b3e6cfabe621 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2165-0497 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | American Society for Microbiology |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microbiology Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj-art-8b88b411b198447fbb89b3e6cfabe6212025-08-20T02:56:43ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologyMicrobiology Spectrum2165-04972025-08-0113810.1128/spectrum.01228-25Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineagesReun-Ping Goh0Yi-Chang Liao1Man-Miao Yang2Chia-Ching Chu3Department of Plant Pathology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Entomology, University California Riverside, Riverside, California, USADepartment of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, TaiwanDepartment of Plant Pathology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, TaiwanABSTRACT Psyllids (Psylloidea) are host-specific, phloem-feeding insects that are associated with the transmission of destructive plant diseases caused by the bacterial genus “Candidatus Liberibacter”. While psyllid-liberibacter interactions have been studied in great detail, most research mainly focused on species associated with important crop diseases. Therefore, a more general understanding of the associations between these two groups of organisms remains limited. The present study investigated the occurrence of infection by “Ca. Liberibacter” across undercharacterized psyllid lineages in Taiwan. Samples of 46 psyllid species, representing six of the seven known Psylloidea families from host plants spanning 22 families, were obtained. The presence of “Ca. Liberibacter” in adult psyllid DNA samples was determined by PCRs targeting 16S rDNA of “Ca. Liberibacter”. PCR tests amplifying mitochondrial 16S DNA of the psyllids were also carried out for quality confirmation. The assays detected “Ca. Liberibacter” in five of the psyllid species tested, namely Calophya nigridorsalis, Homotoma radiata, Cacopsylla tobirae, Epipsylla albolineata, and Trioza quadrimaculata. BLASTn searches and phylogenetic analysis on near-full-length 16S rDNA sequences identified the strain detected in C. tobirae as “Ca. Liberibacter europaeus” and showed that E. albolineata carried a strain closely related to a “Ca. Liberibacter” strain found in Bhutan, while the remaining detected strains could potentially be novel “Ca. Liberibacter” species. The findings from this study showed that a large diversity of “Ca. Liberibacter” could exist among underexplored psyllid and plant species, opening new avenues for investigating the ecology of “Ca. Liberibacter”.IMPORTANCEBacteria of the genus “Candidatus Liberibacter” can cause some of the most devastating plant diseases. Gaining a broader perspective on the diversity of associations between these bacteria and their psyllid vectors is crucial for both fundamental and applicative purposes. By taking advantage of the biological diversity in Taiwan, the present study conducted one of the broadest surveys on the presence of “Ca. Liberibacter” in psyllids, in terms of the diversities of the psyllids examined. The data from this work indicated that previously unknown “Ca. Liberibacter” genotypes and perhaps even novel species may be more prevalent among psyllid species than previously known. These findings highlight the potential importance of exploring psyllid-liberibacter associations from a broader ecological perspective.https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.01228-25insect-microbe associationphylogenetic analysisplant diseasefastidious bacteria |
| spellingShingle | Reun-Ping Goh Yi-Chang Liao Man-Miao Yang Chia-Ching Chu Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages Microbiology Spectrum insect-microbe association phylogenetic analysis plant disease fastidious bacteria |
| title | Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages |
| title_full | Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages |
| title_fullStr | Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages |
| title_full_unstemmed | Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages |
| title_short | Screening of diverse Psylloidea species in Taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel “Candidatus Liberibacter” species in multiple psyllid lineages |
| title_sort | screening of diverse psylloidea species in taiwan reveals the presence of both known and potentially novel candidatus liberibacter species in multiple psyllid lineages |
| topic | insect-microbe association phylogenetic analysis plant disease fastidious bacteria |
| url | https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.01228-25 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT reunpinggoh screeningofdiversepsylloideaspeciesintaiwanrevealsthepresenceofbothknownandpotentiallynovelcandidatusliberibacterspeciesinmultiplepsyllidlineages AT yichangliao screeningofdiversepsylloideaspeciesintaiwanrevealsthepresenceofbothknownandpotentiallynovelcandidatusliberibacterspeciesinmultiplepsyllidlineages AT manmiaoyang screeningofdiversepsylloideaspeciesintaiwanrevealsthepresenceofbothknownandpotentiallynovelcandidatusliberibacterspeciesinmultiplepsyllidlineages AT chiachingchu screeningofdiversepsylloideaspeciesintaiwanrevealsthepresenceofbothknownandpotentiallynovelcandidatusliberibacterspeciesinmultiplepsyllidlineages |