Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jul:308:110930.
doi: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2021.110930. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Phytoene desaturase-silenced citrus as a trap crop with multiple cues to attract Diaphorina citri, the vector of Huanglongbing

Affiliations

Phytoene desaturase-silenced citrus as a trap crop with multiple cues to attract Diaphorina citri, the vector of Huanglongbing

Nabil Killiny et al. Plant Sci. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Huanglongbing (HLB) is one of the most destructive diseases in citrus worldwide. Unfortunately, HLB has no cure and management relies on insecticides to reduce populations of the vector, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae). We propose an attract-and-kill strategy using a trap crop as an alternative to vector control to reduce transmission of the pathogen, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'. We evaluated vector response to phytoene desaturase-silenced citrus trees using virus-induced gene silencing technology. Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) was used to produce a phytoene desaturase-silenced citrus (CTV-tPDS) that expresses visual, olfactory, and gustatory cues to attract D. citri. We found that D. citri were more attracted to CTV-tPDS plants with noticeably better fecundity and overall population fitness than on control plants. Moreover, rearing D. citri on CTV-tPDS plants significantly increased their survival probability compared with those reared on control plants. CTV-tPDS plants possessed reduced content of both carotenoid and chlorophyll pigments resulting in a consistent photobleached phenotype on citrus leaves which provided a sufficient close-range visual attractant to stimulate D. citri landing. Additionally, CTV-tPDS plants exhibited an enriched profile of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which offered adequate olfactory cues to attract psyllid from long-range. Finally, CTV-tPDS plants exhibited an enriched metabolite content of phloem sap and leaves which offered appropriate gustatory cues that influenced probing/feeding behavior. We believe that introducing CTV-tPDS plants (as a trap crop) to D. citri-infested orchards will attract and congregate psyllids to facilitate their removal from the target crop with insecticides or by other means. This new strategy could be deployed relatively quickly and economically to HLB-impacted citrus industries. Moreover, it is an eco-friendly strategy because it should partially reduce the input of chemical insecticides ameliorating the indirect cost of HLB infection.

Keywords: Attract and kill; Carotenoids; Citrus; Diaphorina citri; Electrical Penetration Graph; Phytoene desaturase; Trap crop.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources