Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a quarantine plant pathogen in the European Union, recognized as a high-priority pest due to its devastating cultural and economic impact on crops, ornamental plants, and landscape vegetation. The development and implementation of reliable,...
Publications
Keywords
Mitigation of Almond Leaf Scorch by a Peptide that Inhibits the Motility of Xylella fastidiosa
Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited plant pathogenic bacterium that is a menace to the agriculture worldwide, threating economically relevant crops such as almond. The pathogen presents a dual lifestyle in the plant xylem, consisting of sessile microbial aggregates...
Naked-Eye Molecular Testing for the Detection of Xylella fastidiosa in Mallorca (Balearic Island) Almond Orchards by Colorimetric LAMP
Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a quarantine pathogen heavily affecting economically important crops worldwide. Different sequence types (STs) belonging to Xf subspecies are present in various areas of Spain, including the Balearic Islands, and cause the...
Century-old herbarium specimen provides insights into Pierce’s disease of grapevines emergence in the Americas
Fossils and other preserved specimens are integral for informing timing and evolutionary history in every biological system. By isolating a plant pathogen genome from herbarium-preserved diseased grapevine material from 1906 (Herb_1906), we were able to answer...
Outbreak of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 affecting wild and cultivated olive trees on the island of Mallorca, Spain
The Balearic Islands have emerged as a hotspot for the invasive plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa (Xf). Since 2016, the Xf subsp. fastidiosa and multiplex have been detected causing almond leaf scorch and Pierce’s disease on the island of Mallorca, Spain, and a new...
A New Vector of Xylella fastidiosa: The Role of Mesoptyelus impictifrons as a Vector in Israel
In recent years, the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa has been spreading in almond orchards (causing almond leaf scorch) and in grapevines (causing Pierce's disease) in northern Israel. Sucking insects specialized for xylem sap-feeding transmit this plant...
Multiple genotypes of a quarantine plant pathogen detected in New Zealand indigenous plants located in a botanical garden overseas
Xylella fastidiosa is a xylem-limited bacterial plant pathogen transmitted by insect vectors. It infects a wide range of plant species and causes devastating diseases. Botanical gardens are global repositories of plant diversity exposed to local biotic and abiotic...
Linking intercontinental biogeographic events to decipher how European vineyards escaped Pierce’s disease
Global change is believed to be a major driver of the emergence of invasive pathogens. Yet, there are few documented examples that illustrate the processes that hinder or trigger their geographic spread. Here, we present phylogenetic, epidemiological and historical...
