Plant disease surveillance is essential for the management of disease outbreaks that pose significant threats to agricultural sustainability. In this study, we present a novel sequential point process model designed for disease surveillance. The model incorporates...
Publications
Keywords
Extent of stem colonization of Spanish Xylella fastidiosa strains in olive: A proximal sensing approach for early detection of infection
Emergence of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in Europe threatens agriculture and natural ecosystems. Its adaptability to diverse environments raises concerns on potential host shifts and increased virulence. Effective disease management depends on accurate and timely...
Targeting the Xylella fastidiosa spittlebug vector Neophilaenus campestris in the olive cover crops with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum
Neophilaenus campestris (Fallén) (Hemiptera: Aphrophoridae) is among the most abundant, highly dispersible, and widely distributed Xylella fastidiosa Wells (Xanthomonadales: Xanthomonadaceae) vectors to olive tree in Europe, with emphasis in Andalucía. The development...
Complete genome assembly of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa (ST1) strains “BA_GR31” and “BA_AL21” associated with a new outbreak in Apulia, Italy
Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is a xylem-limited quarantine phytobacterium representing a serious threat to European and Mediterranean agriculture and landscape, where outbreaks caused by strains belonging to three subspecies have been reported in Italy, France, Spain,...
Pseudogenes and host specialization in the emergent bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa
Pseudogenes are regarded as “junk” DNA, representing vestigial functions no longer needed for fitness. Accordingly, a higher number of pseudogenes in a bacterial human pathogen was previously hypothesized to be a hallmark of host specialists. In this study, we tested...
Modeling the accuracy of Xylella fastidiosa molecular diagnostic tests in naturally-infected almond tree samples
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,...
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...