Detection and phylogenic relationships of Xylella fastidiosa strains from different host plants
Jebraeil Bahmani, Nader Hasanzadeh, Maryam Ghayeb Zamharir, Behrouz Harighi
Abstract: This study aimed to examine and analyze the distribution and phylogenetic relationships of the Xylella fastidiosa strain, a Gram-negative bacterium that impacts plant xylem and is responsible for various diseases in multiple plant hosts. Samples were collected from various plant hosts, including grapevines, pistachios, almonds, apples, pears, elms, cherries, and citrus fruits, across 12 provinces in Iran from 2019 to 2022. Disease incidence was detected in grapevine, pistachio, and almond orchards across six provinces, including Kerman, Yazd, Semnan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, West Azarbaijan, and Qazvin. Tracking and diagnosis of the disease in plant extracts were carried out by ELISA and PCR methods using RST31/33 primer. The efficiency of conventional PCR in disease diagnosis was found to be less than 1%. In contrast, a nested PCR method using the ALSC491-F/ALSC491-R primer, which targets a smaller portion of the RNA polymerase sigma-70 factor gene, demonstrated 55% effectiveness in detecting DNA extraction from plants. Additionally, the common FD2/RP1 and specific XF1-XF6 primers were used to amplify the 16S rDNA gene in a limited number of samples. Our results from nested PCR analysis detected X. fastidiosa as the causative agent of pistachio and grapevine Pierce disease. Furthermore, X. fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa infection was detected in almond and pistachio hosts.
Keywords: almond; Grapevine; nested PCR; phylogenic; pistachios; Xylella fastidiosa
Citation: Bahmani, J., Hasanzadeh, N., Zamharir, M. G. & Harighi, B. (2026). Detection and phylogenic relationships of Xylella fastidiosa strains from different host plants. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 32(2), 325–334
| References: (click to open/close) | AbuObeid, I., Al-Karablieh, N. & Haddadin, J. (2020). Survey on the presence of Xylella fastidiosa, the causal agent of olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS) on olives in Jordan. Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, 53(3-4), 188 - 197.
Ahmadi, S. (2022). Antibacterial and antifungal activities of medicinal plant species and endophytes. Cell. Mol. Biomed. Rep., 2(2), 109 - 115.
Aguilar-Granados, A., Hernández-Macías, B., Santiago-Martínez, G., Ruiz-Medrano, R., Kameyama-Kawabe, L., Hinojosa-Moya, J., Del Carmen Montes-Horcasitas, M. & Xoconostle-Cázares, B. (2021). Genetic Diversity of Xylella fastidiosa in Mexican Vineyards. Plant Dis., 105(5), 1490 - 1494.
Amanifar, N., Babaei, G. & Mohammadi, A. H. (2019). Xylella fastidiosa causes leaf scorch of pistachio (Pistacia vera) in Iran. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 58(2), 369 - 378.
Amanifar, N., Taghavi, M. & Izadpanah, K. (2014). Isolation and pathogenicity of Xylella fastidiosa from grapevine and almond in Iran. Phytopathologia Mediterranea. 53, 318 - 327.
Anguita-Maeso, M., Ares-Yebra, A., Haro, C., Román-Écija, M., Olivares-García, C., Costa, J., Marco-Noales, E., Ferrer, A., Navas-Cortés, J. A. & Landa, B. B. (2022). Xylella fastidiosa Infection Reshapes Microbial Composition and Network Associations in the Xylem of Almond Trees. Front Microbiol., 14(13), 866085.
Azevedo, J. L., Araújo, W. L. & Lacava, P. T. (2016). The diversity of citrus endophytic bacteria and their interactions with Xylella fastidiosa and host plants. Genetics and Molecular Biology, 39, 476 - 491.
Barnard, E., Ash, E. & Hopkins, D. (1998). Distribution of Xylella fastidiosa in oaks in Florida and its association with growth decline in Quercus laevis. Plant Disease, 82(5), 569 - 572.
Buzombo, P., Jaimes, J. & Lam, V. (2006). An American hybrid vineyard in the Texas Gulf Coast: Analysis within a Pierce’s disease hot zone. American journal of enology and viticulture, 57(3), 347 - 355.
Cariddi, C., Saponari, M. & Boscia, D. (2014). Isolation of a Xylella fastidiosa strain infecting olive and oleander in Apulia, Italy. Journal of Plant Pathology, 96(3), 1 - 5.
Castillo, A. I., Tsai, C. W. & Su, C. C. (2021). Genetic differentiation of Xylella fastidiosa following the introduction into Taiwan. Microb. Genom., 7(12), 000727.
Castro, C., DiSalvo, B. & Roper, M. C. (2021). Xylella fastidiosa: A reemerging plant pathogen that threatens crops globally. PLoS Pathogens, 7(9), e1009813.
Chang, C. J., Garnier, M., Zreik, L., Rossetti, V. & Bové, J. M. (1993). Culture and serological detection of the xylem-limited bacterium causing citrus variegated chlorosis and its identification as a strain of Xylella fastidiosa. Current Microbiology, 27, 137 - 142.
Chatterjee, S, Almeida, R. P. P. & Lindow, S. (2008). Living in two worlds: the plant and insect lifestyles of Xylella fastidiosa. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol., 46, 243 - 271.
Cornara, D., Morente, M., Markheiser, A., Bodino, N., Fereres, A., Redak, R. A. & Lopes, J. R. S. (2019). An overview on the worldwide vectors of Xylella fastidiosa. Entomologia Generalis, 39, 55 - 62.
Davis, M. J., Purcell, A. H. & Thomson, S. V. (1978). Pierce's disease of grapevines: isolation of the causal bacterium. Science, 199(4324), 75 - 77.
de Souza, J. B., Almeida-Souza, H. O., Zaini, P. A., Alves, M. N., de Souza, A. G., Pierry, P. M., da Silva, A. M., Goulart, L. R., Dandekar, A. M. & Nascimento, R. (2020). Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca Strains Fb7 and 9a5c from Citrus Display Differential Behavior, Secretome, and Plant Virulence. Int. J. Mol. Sci., 21(18), 6769.
Firrrao, G. & Bazzi, C. (1994). Specific identification of Xylella fastidiosa using the polymerase chain reaction. Phytopathol. Medit., 33, 90 - 92.
Giménez-Romero, A., Galván, J., Montesinos, M., Bauzà, J., Godefroid, M., Fereres, A., Ramasco, J. J., Matías, M. A. & Moralejo, E. (2022). Global predictions for the risk of establishment of Pierce's disease of grapevines. Commun. Biol., 5(1), 1389.
Hernandez-Martinez, R., Pinckard, T. R., Costa, H. S., Cooksey, D. A. & Wong, F. P. (2006). Discovery and Characterization of Xylella fastidiosa Strains in Southern California Causing Mulberry Leaf Scorch. Plant Dis., 90(9), 1143 - 1149.
Ingel, B., Jeske, D. R., Sun, Q., Grosskopf, J. & Roper, M. C. (2019). Xylella fastidiosa Endoglucanases Mediate the Rate of Pierce's Disease Development in Vitis vinifera in a Cultivar-Dependent Manner. Mol. Plant Microbe. Interact., 32(10), 1402 – 1414.
Jacques, M. A., Arlat, M., Boulanger, A., Boureau, T., Carrère, S., Cesbron, S., Chen, N. W., Cociancich, S., Darrasse, A., Denancé, N., Fischer-Le Saux, M., Gagnevin, L., Koebnik, R., Lauber, E., Noël, L. D., Pieretti, I., Portier, P., Pruvost, O., Rieux, A., Robène, I., Royer, M., Szurek, B., Verdier, V. & Vernière, C. (2016). Using Ecology, Physiology, and Genomics to Understand Host Specificity in Xanthomonas. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol., 54, 163 - 187.
Kheyrodin, H., Jami, R. & Rehman, F. U. (2022). Cellular structure and molecular functions of plants, animals, bacteria, and viruses. Cell. Mol. Biomed. Rep., 2(1), 33 - 41.
Krugner, R., Rogers, E. E., Burbank, L. P., Wallis, C. M. & Ledbetter, C. A. (2022). Insights Regarding Resistance of 'Nemaguard' Rootstock to the Bacterium Xylella fastidiosa. Plant Dis.,106(8), 2074 - 2081.
Leu, L. & Su, C. (1993). Isolation, cultivation, and pathogenicity of Xylella fastidiosa, the causal bacterium of pear leaf scorch disease in Taiwan. Plant Disease, 77(6), 642 - 646.
Luvisi, A., Nicolì, F. & De Bellis, L. (2017). Sustainable management of plant quarantine pests: The case of olive quick decline syndrome. Sustainability, 9(4), 659.
Mansfield, J., Genin, S., Magori, S., Citovsky, V., Sriariyanum, M., Ronald, P., Dow, M., Verdier, V., Beer, S. V., Machado, M. A., Toth, I., Salmond, G. & Foster, G. D. (2012). Top 10 plant pathogenic bacteria in molecular plant pathology. Mol. Plant Pathol., 13(6), 614 - 629.
Mircetich, S. M., Lowe, S. & Moller, W. (1976). Etiology of almond leaf scorch disease and transmission of the causal agent. Phytopathology, 66(1), 17 - 24.
Minsavage, G., Thompson, C. & Hopkins, D. (1994). Development of a polymerase chain reaction protocol for detection of Xylella fastidiosa in plant tissue. Phytopathology, 84(5), 456 - 461.
Nunney, L., Schuenzel, E. L., Scally, M., Bromley, R. E., Stouthamer, R. (2014). Large-scale intersubspecific recombination in the plant-pathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa is associated with the host shift to mulberry. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 80(10), 3025 - 3033.
Randall, J. J., Goldberg, N. P., Kemp, J. D., Radionenko, M., French, J. M., Olsen, M. W. & Hanson, S. F. (2009). Genetic analysis of a novel Xylella fastidiosa subspecies found in the southwestern United States. Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 75(17), 5631 - 5638.
Safady, N. G., Lopes, J. R. S., Francisco, C. S. & Coletta-Filho, H. D. (2019). Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca Associated with Olive Quick Syndrome Symptoms in Southeastern Brazil. Phytopathology, 109(2), 257 - 264.
Salehi-Sardoei, A. & Khalili, H. (2022). Nitric oxide signaling pathway in medicinal plants. Cell. Mol. Biomed. Rep., 2(1), 1 - 10.
Scortichini, M. (2020). Predisposing factors for “olive quick decline syndrome” in Salento (Apulia, Italy). Agronomy, 10(9), 1445.
Shafaati, M., Ghorbani, M. & Mahmodi, M. (2022). Molecular evaluation and genetic characterisation of Newcastle disease virus's haemagglutinin-neuraminidase protein isolated from broiler chickens in Iran. Vet. Med. Sci., 8(1), 219 - 228.
Su, C. C., Deng, W. L., Jan, F. J., Chang, C. J., Huang, H., Shih, H. T. & Chen, J. (2016). Xylella taiwanensis sp. nov., causing pear leaf scorch disease. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 66(11), 4766 - 4771.
Weisburg, W. G., Barns, S. M. & Pelletier, D. A. (1991). 16S ribosomal DNA amplification for phylogenetic study. Journal of bacteriology, 173(2), 697 - 703.
Sutula, C. L., Gillett, J. M., Morrissey, S. M. & Ramsdell, D. C. (1986). Interpreting ELISA data and establishing the positive-negative threshold. Plant Disease, 70, 722 - 726.
Wells, J. M., Raju, B. C. & Hung, H-Y. (1987). Xylella fastidiosa gen. nov., sp. nov: gram-negative, xylem-limited, fastidious plant bacteria related to Xanthomonas spp. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 37(2), 136 - 143.
Yao, S-M., Wu, M-L. & Hung, T-H. (2023). Development of Multiplex RT-PCR Assay for the Simultaneous Detection of Four Systemic Diseases Infecting Citrus. Agriculture, 13(6), 1227.
Yuan, X., Morano, L., Bromley, R., Spring-Pearson, S., Stouthamer, R. & Nunney, L. (2010). Multilocus sequence typing of Xylella fastidiosa causing Pierce's disease and oleander leaf scorch in the United States. Phytopathology, 100(6), 601 - 611.
Zecharia, N., Krasnov, H., Vanunu, M., Siri, A. C., Haberman, A., Dror, O., Vakal, L., Almeida, R. P. P., Blank, L., Shtienberg, D. & Bahar, O. (2022). Xylella fastidiosa Outbreak in Israel: Population Genetics, Host Range, and Temporal and Spatial Distribution Analysis. Phytopathology, 112(11), 2296 - 2309.
Zicca, S., De Bellis, P., Masiello, M., Saponari, M., Saldarelli, P., Boscia, D. & Sisto A. (2020). Antagonistic activity of olive endophytic bacteria and of Bacillus spp. strains against Xylella fastidiosa. Microbiol. Res., 236, 126467. |
|
| Date published: 2026-04-29
Download full text 
