Spatial-temporal dynamics of spittlebug populations, together with transmission biology, are of major importance to outline the disease epidemiology of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca in Apulian olive groves. The spread rate of X....
Publications
Keywords
Direct and indirect effects of two endophytic entomopathogenic fungi on survival and feeding behaviour of meadow spittlebug Philaenus spumarius
Highlights: Direct exposure of Philaenus to Metarhizium brunneum reduces its survivorship. M. brunneum successfully colonises the host plant and reduces survival of Philaenus. Philaenus reaches the xylem faster on M. brunneum-colonised plants. Xylem sap ingestion by...
Genealogical tracing of Olea europaea species and pedigree relationships of var. europaea using chloroplast and nuclear markers
Background Olive is one of the most cultivated species in the Mediterranean Basin and beyond. Despite being extensively studied for its commercial relevance, the origin of cultivated olive and the history of its domestication remain open questions. Here, we present a...
Functional Peptides for Plant Disease Control
Plant disease control requires novel approaches to mitigate the spread of and losses caused by current, emerging, and re-emerging diseases and to adapt plant protection to global climate change and the restrictions on the use of conventional pesticides. Currently,...
Induction of Defense Responses and Protection of Almond Plants Against Xylella fastidiosa by Endotherapy with a Bifunctional Peptide
Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogenic bacterium that has been introduced in the European Union (EU), causing significant yield losses in economically important Mediterranean crops. Almond leaf scorch (ALS) is currently one of the most relevant diseases...
Complete Circularized Genome Resources of Seven Strains of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa Using Hybrid Assembly Reveals Unknown Plasmids
Xylella fastidiosa is a vascular plant pathogenic bacterium native to the Americas that is causing significant epidemics and economic losses in olive and almonds in Europe, where it is a quarantine pathogen. Since its first detection in 2013 in Italy, mandatory...
Forecasting Pathogen Dynamics with Bayesian Model-Averaging: Application to Xylella fastidiosa
Forecasting invasive-pathogen dynamics is paramount to anticipate eradication and containment strategies. Such predictions can be obtained using a model grounded on partial differential equations (PDE; often exploited to model invasions) and fitted to surveillance...
Parallel host shifts in a bacterial plant pathogen suggest independent genetic solutions
While there are documented host shifts in many bacterial plant pathogens, the genetic foundation of host shifts is largely unknown. Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterial pathogen found in over 600 host plant species. Two parallel host shifts occurred—in Brazil and...
Detection of Xylella fastidiosa in Host Plants and Insect Vectors by Droplet Digital PCR
Spatial-temporal dynamics of spittlebug populations, together with transmission biology, are of major importance to outline the disease epidemiology of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) subsp. pauca in Apulian olive groves. The spread rate of Xf is...
Bactericidal and plant defense elicitation activities of Eucalyptus oil decrease the severity of infections by Xylella fastidiosa on almond plants
The activity of Eucalyptus essential oil against eleven strains pertaining to six species of plant pathogenic bacteria was studied using growth inhibition and contact assays. All strains were susceptible to the formulation EGL2, and Xylella...