Most X. fastidiosa-related diseases appear as marginal leaf necrosis and scorching of the leaves. In the case of PD, X. fastidiosa can also cause desiccation of berries (termed 'raisining'), irregular periderm development and abnormal abscission of petioles. In olive trees affected with OQDS, leaves exhibit marginal necrosis and defoliation, and overall tree decline occurs. Plants with ALS and OLS also exhibit the characteristic leaf scorch symptoms. Not all X. fastidiosa-related diseases exhibit the typical leaf scorch symptoms. These include CVC and Phony Peach disease, amongst others. In the case of CVC, symptoms include foliar wilt and interveinal chlorosis on the upper surfaces of the leaves (similar to zinc deficiency), which correspond to necrotic, gum-like regions on the undersides of the leaves. Additional symptoms of CVC include defoliation, dieback and hardening of fruits. Plants infected with Phony Peach disease exhibit a denser, more compact canopy (as a result of shortened internodes, darker green leaves and delayed leaf senescence), premature bloom and reduced fruit size. Some occlusions occur in the xylem vessels, but there are no foliar wilting, chlorosis or necrosis symptoms . USEFUL WEBSITES: http://www.piercesdisease.org/; https://pubmlst.org/xfastidiosa/; http://www.xylella.lncc.br/; https://nature.berkeley.edu/xylella/; https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_health_biosecurity/legislation/emergency_measures/xylella-fastidiosa_en.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are among the known pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). LPSs are potent elicitors of PAMP-triggered immunity (PTI), and bacteria have evolved intricate mechanisms to dampen PTI. Here we demonstrate that Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), a hemibiotrophic plant pathogenic bacterium, possesses a long chain O-antigen that enables it to delay initial plant recognition, thereby allowing it to effectively skirt initial elicitation of innate immunity and establish itself in the host. Lack of the O-antigen modifies plant perception of Xf and enables elicitation of hallmarks of PTI, such as ROS production specifically in the plant xylem tissue compartment, a tissue not traditionally considered a spatial location of PTI. To explore translational applications of our findings, we demonstrate that pre-treatment of plants with Xf LPS primes grapevine defenses to confer tolerance to Xf challenge.

Xylella fastidiosa is a gram-negative, xylem-limited bacterium that causes a lethal disease of grapevine called Pierce's disease. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) composes approximately 75% of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria and, because it is largely displayed on the cell surface, it mediates interactions between the bacterial cell and its surrounding environment. LPS is composed of a conserved lipid A-core oligosaccharide component and a variable O-antigen portion. By targeting a key O-antigen biosynthetic gene, we demonstrate the contribution of the rhamnose-rich O-antigen to surface attachment, cell-cell aggregation, and biofilm maturation: critical steps for successful infection of the host xylem tissue. Moreover, we have demonstrated that a fully formed O-antigen moiety is an important virulence factor for Pierce's disease development in grape and that depletion of the O-antigen compromises its ability to colonize the host. It has long been speculated that cell-surface polysaccharides play a role in X. fastidiosa virulence and this study confirms that LPS is a major virulence factor for this important agricultural pathogen.

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e Hemipteran insect vectors transmit the majority of plant pathogens. Acquisition of pathogenic bacteria by these piercing/sucking insects requires intimate associations between the bacterial cells and insect surfaces. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is the predominant macromolecule displayed on the cell surface of Gram-negative bacteria and thus mediates bacterial interactions with the environment and potential hosts. We hypothesized that bacterial cell surface properties mediated by LPS would be important in modulating vector-pathogen interactions required for acquisition of the bacterial plant pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, the causative agent of Pierce's disease of grapevines. Utilizing a mutant that produces truncated O antigen (the terminal portion of the LPS molecule), we present results that link this LPS structural alteration to a significant decrease in the attachment of X. fastidiosa to blue-green sharpshooter foreguts. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that this defect in initial attachment compromised subsequent biofilm formation within vector foreguts, thus impairing pathogen acquisition. We also establish a relationship between O antigen truncation and significant changes in the physiochemical properties of the cell, which in turn affect the dynamics of X. fastidiosa adhesion to the vector foregut. Lastly, we couple measurements of the physiochemical properties of the cell with hydrodynamic fluid shear rates to produce a Comsol model that predicts primary areas of bacterial colonization within blue-green sharpshooter foreguts, and we present experimental data that support the model. These results demonstrate that, in addition to reported protein adhesin-ligand interactions, O antigen is crucial for vector-pathogen interactions, specifically in the acquisition of this destructive agricultural pathogen. Insect vectors transmit numerous pathogens to a wide range of animal and plant hosts. Hemipteran vectors, such as aphids, leafhoppers, and whiteflies, are an economically important group of insects because they are the dominant vectors of plant pathogens (1). The molecular determinants of transmission have been explored for only a few phytopathosystems (compared to mammalian systems), with virus-vector interactions being the most extensively studied. Surface entities, such as virion capsid components, have been shown to be important for the retention and transmission of plant viruses (2), indicating the importance of pathogen surface properties in mediating these interactions. However, we have much less information regarding the molecular mechanisms of insect transmission of bacterial pathogens, specifically those infecting plants.Xylella fastidiosa is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes diseases in several economically important crops, including Pierce's disease (PD) of grapevines, citrus variegated chlorosis, and almond leaf scorch. X. fastidiosa forms biofilms within the xylem vessels of plant hosts, which occludes vessels and impedes water flow within the vine (3). Symptoms of PD include marginal l...