Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research
Project Number: 2092-21220-003-024-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2023
End Date: Jul 30, 2024
Objective:
The goal of this project is to reassess the actual diversity of Liberibacter solanacearum (Lso) pathogens in the Northwest U.S. and to identify the psyllid vectors and respective plant hosts that contribute to epidemiology of these different pathogens.
To accomplish this goal, we will Identify known and currently unknown genetic variants of Lso by assaying psyllid specimens collected from vegetable and potato growing regions in Oregon and Washington State.
Approach:
Psyllid specimens will be collected from sticky card traps and specialized psyllid traps which accumulate specimens directly into preservative. These traps will be placed along potato, vegetable, and seed crop fields in Central Washington State as part of the Washington State University Pest Monitoring Network organized and managed by WSU co-PI and placed next to potato fields in southern Oregon under the direction of OSU co-PI.
USDA-TTFVRU co-PIs will identify Psyllids to species or genus and test for Liberibacter solanacearum (Lso) by using established conventional PCR methods. If Lso is detected in any specimen, further identification of the Lso haplotype will be conducted by targeting of the 16S ribosomal RNA, 50S ribosomal protein subunits, and outer membrane protein for PCR and sequence analysis. DNA sequences will be submitted to GenBank.
