title: Spittlebugs as vectors ofXylella fastidiosain olive orchards in Italy.
abstract: The recent introduction ofXylella fastidiosain Europe and its involvement in the Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS) in Apulia (Salento, Lecce district, South Italy) led us to investigate the biology and transmission ability of the meadow spittlebug,Philaenus spumarius, which was recently demonstrated to transmitX. fastidiosato periwinkle plants. Four xylem-sap-feeding insect species were found within and bordering olive orchards across Salento during a survey carried out from October 2013 to December 2014:P. spumariuswas the most abundant species on non-olive vegetation in olive orchards as well as on olive foliage and was the only species that consistently tested positive for the presence ofX. fastidiosausing real-time PCR.P. spumarius, whose nymphs develop within spittle on weeds during the spring, are likely to move from weeds beneath olive trees to olive canopy during the dry period (May to October 2014). The firstX. fastidiosa-infectiveP. spumariuswere collected in May from olive canopy: all the individuals previously collected on weeds tested negative for the bacterium. Experiments demonstrated thatP. spumariustransmittedX. fastidiosafrom infected to uninfected olive plants. Moreover,P. spumariusacquiredX. fastidiosafrom several host plant species in the field, with the highest acquisition rate from olive, polygala and acacia. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed bacterial cells resemblingX. fastidiosain the foreguts of adultP. spumarius. The data presented here are essential to plan an effective IPM strategy and limit further spread of the fastidious bacterium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cornara
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saponari
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA USA.
authors.forename: Adam R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Zeilinger
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Stradis
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Donato
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boscia
authors.affiliation: Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection, National Research Council (CNR), Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuliana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Loconsole
authors.affiliation: Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, Italy.
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bosco
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Martelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA USA.
authors.forename: Rodrigo P P
authors.initials: RPP
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Porcelli
keywords: Aphrophoridae; Auchenorryncha; Emerging diseases; Plant pathogenic bacteria