Delivery of a genetically marked Alcaligenes sp. to the glassy-winged sharpshooter for use in a paratransgenic control strategy.
An artificial feeding system was designed for the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca coagulata Say (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). The system, unlike previous systems, provided enough nutrients to GWSS to survive for 48 h. A system like this is a prerequisite to examining the potential use of paratransgenesis to interrupt transmission of Xylella fastidiosa, the bacterial pathogen causing Pierce's disease of grape, by insect vectors. We developed a system for short-term feeding of GWSS that allows for the introduction of bacteria in liquid medium, and we have demonstrated the ability of Alcaligenes xylosoxidans denitrificans, expressing a red fluorescent protein (dsRed), to colonize the cibarial region of the GWSS foregut for up to 5 weeks post-exposure. Alcaligenes xylosoxidans denitrificans thus occupies the same region in the foregut as the pathogen, Xylella fastidiosa.
Bextine
Blake
B
University of California, Department of Entomology, Riverside, CA 92521-0314, USA. blake.bextine@ucr.edu
Lauzon
Carol
C
Potter
Sarah
S
Lampe
David
D
Miller
Thomas A
TA
D000421:Alcaligenes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000898:Antibiosis; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology; D017930:Genes, Reporter; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000382:microbiology*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology; D008164:Luminescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D044167:Xylella / Q000502:physiology
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; C413663:fluorescent protein 583