Scientists Document a Case of Dangerous Bacteria in a Common Weed Found Throughout the United States

Scientists have discovered the first incidence of a dangerous phytoplasma disease in North America, which is known to threaten fruit, vegetable, and horticultural crops in South America and the Middle East.

To make matters worse, scientists have discovered that the disease's host is one of the most poisonous and fast-growing weeds found in a variety of habitats across the United States and Canada.

The harmful bacteria on the most invasive plants in America

(Photo : JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images))

The first report of Cadidatus Phytoplasma brasiliense in North America and in a novel host, yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) was just published in the journal "Plant Health Progress."

"The disease's host is known as yellow nutsedge, which is one of the most common and hazardous weeds found everywhere," said Brian Bahder, assistant professor of entomology at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, as per ScienceDaily.

It is one of the most invasive weeds in lawns, residential landscapes, vegetable and flower gardens, and agricultural systems.

Candidatus Phytoplasma brasiliense, a phytoplasma species, has been found to be harmful to hibiscus, papaya, and cauliflower in areas of Brazil and Peru.

Following that, studies revealed that the same species affects peaches in the Middle Eastern country of Azerbaijan.

In Fort Pierce, Bahder and his colleagues verified the phytoplasma and host.

They discovered it while researching a different disease, Lethal Bronzing, which destroys palm palms. Scientists were scanning and evaluating grass samples in the hopes of discovering a reservoir for fatal bronzing.

According to research, the adult planthopper insect that transmits lethal bronzing feeds on the canopy of the palm, and the nymphs have been found among more than 40 types of grasses and sedges.

"The next logical step is to determine which insect is spreading the illness, and the good news is that we detected this early," Bahder added.

They don't know if that was an isolated incidence or if the bug is spreading in the grass, or if it will feed on papaya, hibiscus, or cauliflower all of which are economically significant in Florida.

Also Read: Parasitic Bacteria Turns Plants Into 'Zombies,' Helping Protect Disease-Threatened Crops

The global status of Phytoplasma Diseases in agricultural crops

Phytoplasmas and their related illnesses are a growing hazard to vegetable agriculture, resulting in significant output losses globally.

Phytoplasmas are pleomorphic bacteria with a phloem-limited cell wall that are mostly transmitted by leafhoppers but can also be transferred through plant propagation materials and seeds.

Symptoms of Phytoplasma infections of vegetable crops include small leaves, phyllody, flower virescence, large buds, and witches' brooms.

Phytoplasmas encased in at least sixteen distinct ribosomal groups have been found infecting vegetable crops all over the world.

The aster yellows phytoplasma group (16SrI) is currently the most common, followed by the peanut witches' broom phytoplasma group (16SrII), as per Frontiers in Microbiology.

Various phytoplasmas may cause different symptoms in different plant species, and/or different phytoplasmas may cause identical symptoms in different host species.

Phytoplasmas of the 16SrIII group, for example, have been documented to cause symptoms, such as a small leaf, stunting, and witches' broom in a variety of vegetable crops such as cabbage, chili, squash, potato, tomato, and bitter gourd.

Several improved approaches were used to identify phytoplasmas during the genomic era, thus traits, such as morphology, transmission ability, and nucleic acid sequence identity are now used for phytoplasma identification and characterization.

Researchers identified phytoplasmas as bright patches by fluorescence microscopy in the phloem tissue of brinjal afflicted with little leaf disease by staining with fluorochrome 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI).