Color morphology of Diaphorina citri influences interactions with its bacterial endosymbionts and 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus'.

ABSTRACT: Diaphorina citri is a vector of 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus,' (CLas), associated with Huanglongbing, (HLB, or citrus greening) disease in citrus. D. citri exhibits three different color morph variants, blue, gray and yellow. Blue morphs have a greater capacity for long-distance flight as compared to non-blue morphs, but little else is known about how color morphology influences vector characteristics. In this study, we show that the color morphology of the insect is derived from pigmented cells of the fat body. Blue morphs acquire a lower level of CLas in their bodies from infected trees as compared to their gray and yellow conspecifics, referred to in this paper collectively as non-blue morphs. Accordingly, CLas titer in citrus leaves inoculated by non-blue insects was 6-fold highe

SUBMITTER: Hosseinzadeh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6522040 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature