Homalodisca coagulata (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) , the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), is an efficient vector of the foregut borne, bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), which causes Pierce’s disease of grapevine. In previous studies, non-pathogenic, or commensal, bacteria that also colonize GWSS foregut were identified. In this study, we determined the transmission parameters of one of these symbiotic bacteria, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans subspecies denitrificans (Axd), by GWSS. Using an Axd strain that was transformed with a fluorescent marker protein gene, the inoculation access period, acquisition access period and latent period were determined through PCR detection. Axd was identified as a possible agent for delivery of an anti-Xf agent for use in a paratransgenic approach to interrupt the Pierce’s disease transmission cycle.
Species 1: Homoptera Cicadellidae Homalodisca coagulata (glassy-winged sharpshooter)
Keywords: Pierce's disease, symbionts
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