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Shade tree hosts affected by BLS

Table 1. Shade tree hosts affected by BLS.

Scientific name Common name
Acer sp.           
      A. rubrum Red maple
      A. negundo Boxelder
      A. saccharum Sugar maple
Cornus florida Flowering dogwood
Celtis occidentalis Hackberry
Liquidambar stryraciflua Sweet gum
Morus alba White mulberry
Platanus sp.           
      P. occidentalis American sycamore
      P. x acerifolia London plane
Quercus sp.           
      Q. velutina Black oak
      Q. incana Bluejack oak
      Q. macrocarpa Bur oak
      Q. prinus Chestnut oak
      Q. laurifolia Laurel oak
      Q. virginiana Live oak
      Q. rubra Northern red oak
      Q. palustris Pin oak
      Q. stellata Post oak
      Q. coccinea Scarlet oak
      Q. imbricaria Shingle oak
      Q. shumardii Shumard oak
      Q. falcata Southern red oak
      Q. bicolor Swamp white oak
      Q. laevis Turkey oak
      Q. nigra Water oak
      Q. alba White oak
      Q. phellos Willow oak
Ulmus americana American elm



Table 2. Some of the economically important diseases caused by Xylella fastidiosa characterized by the primary symptom expressed.

Leaf scorch Almond leaf scorch (Prunus amygdalus)
Bacterial leaf scorch of shade trees
Coffee leaf scorch (Coffea arabica)
Oleander leaf scorch (Nerium oleander)
Pear leaf scorch (Pyrus pyrifolia)
Pecan leaf scorch (Carya illinoinensis)
Pierce’s disease of grapevine (Vitis spp.)
Plum leaf scald (Prunus domestica, P. salicina)
Stunt Alfalfa dwarf (Medicago sativa)
Citrus variegated chlorosis (Citrus spp.)
Phony peach disease (Prunus persica)
Periwinkle wilt (Catharanthus roseus)



Table 3. Some alternative hosts of Xylella fastidiosa.1

Scientific name Common name
Aesculus x hybrid Buckeye
Ampelopsis arborea Peppervine
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata Porcelain berry
Artemisia spp. Mugwort
Baccharis halimifolia Eastern baccharis
Callicarpa americana American beautyberry
Celastrus orbiculata Oriental bittersweet
Cynodon dactylon Bermuda grass
Fagus crenata Japanese beech bonsai
Fragaria californica Wild strawberry
Hedera helix English ivy
Montia linearis Miner’s lettuce
Parthenocissus quinquefolia Virginia creeper
Parthenocissus tricuspidata Boston ivy
Paspalum dilatatum Dallis grass
Rhus sp. Sumac
Rubus procerus Blackberry
Sambucus canadensis American elder
Solidago fistulosa Goldenrod
Sorghum halapense Johnson grass
Trifolium repens var. latum Landino clover
Vitis sp. Wild grape

For a more complete list of alternative hosts, refer to the Xylella fastidiosa web site: http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/xylella/index.html.



Table 4. Methods used to detect Xylella fastidiosa1.

Technique Sensitivity2

(number of bacterial cells)
Cost and labor
Culture from xylem fluid on selective media 1000 Low
ELISA3 100,000 Med
PCR 100 High
IC-PCR4 <100 High

 1Adapted from R. Jordan. 2002. In: Bacterial Leaf Scorch in Amenity trees: A Wide-Spread Problem of Economic Significance to the Urban Forest. Lashomb, J., A. Iskra, A.B. Gould, and G. Hamilton, eds. Vol. NA-TP-01-03: USFS

 2Lowest approximate number of bacterial cells that the assay can detect.

 3Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

 4Immunocapture-PCR



Table 5. Some known leafhopper vectors of Xylella fastidiosa.

Host Insect vector
Citrus (Brazil) Acrogonia terminalis
Dilobopterus costalimai
Oncometopia fascialis
Oncometopia nigricans
Grape Carneocephala fulgida
Draeculacephala minerva
Graphocephala atropunctata
Homalodisca coagulata
Oncometopia nigricans
Oleander Homalodisca coagulata
Homalodisca lacerta
Peach, plum Graphocephala versuta
Homalodisca coagulata
Homalodisca insolita
Oncometopia orbona



Table 6. Discovery of the identity of Xylella fastidiosa.

1890s California vine disease (now known as Pierce’s disease) and phony peach disease observed and studied in different parts of the United States; As Newton B. Pierce states, a "minute microorganism" may be involved.
1936 to
1959
Root graft, budding, and/or insect transmission of Pierce’s disease, alfalfa dwarf, and elm scorch; causal agent considered to be a virus.
1971 Tetracycline antibiotic suppresses development of Pierce’s disease; causal agent now considered to be a mycoplasma-like organism (MLO).
1973 Electron microscopy reveals a "Rickettsia-like bacterium" in xylem tissues associated with Pierce’s disease and phony peach disease; elm leaf scorch still considered to be caused by a virus.
1978 Selective media were defined and a bacterium isolated from infected grapevine xylem tissues.
1980 A xylem-limited bacterium was associated with leaf scorch of elm.
1987 Xylella fastidiosa described as a new bacterial species.
2004 New subspecies for Xylella fastidiosa described based on pathogenicity, phylogenetic characteristics, and DNA relatedness.

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Copyright © 2007
by The American Phytopathological Society