Unravelling Citrus Huanglongbing Disease
Author
Date
2020Cita bibliográfica
Ferrarezi, R. S., Vincent, C. I., Urbaneja, A., & Machado, M. A. (2020). Unravelling Citrus Huanglongbing Disease. Frontiers in Plant Science, 11, 609655.Abstract
Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening is a disease caused by the unculturable, fastidious, phloem-restrictive, Gram-negative bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter spp. Currently, there are three species linked to the disease. The Asian form associated with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) is heat-tolerant and can survive well above 30°C. The African (Candidatus Liberibacter africanus) and American forms are heat-sensitive and develop between 22 and 25°C (Candidatus Liberibacter americanus) (Bové, 2006). Huanglongbing is vector-transmitted mainly by the African citrus psyllid Trioza erytreae Del Guercio (Hemiptera: Triozidae) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae), with two other psyllids also reported as vectors, D. communis Mathur and Cacopsilla citrisuga (Yang & Li) (Hemiptera: Pysllidae). The disease was first described in 1929 and reported in China in 1943. The African variation was reported in South Africa in 1947. The disease was reported in Brazil (São Paulo) in 2004 and the United States (Florida) in 2005. More than 20% of citrus trees in Brazil and 90% in Florida are currently affected, with symptomatic trees present in Texas and California. Huanglongbing is present and affects several citrus-producing countries of Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and America (except for Bolivia, Chile, Perú, and Uruguay). The Mediterranean Basin and Australia are still free of HLB. The threat to HLB-free countries is constant due to the proximity of the disease and its vectors and the unstoppable increase in international trade.