Grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) is a DNA virus in the family Geminiviridae. This pathogen is the causal agent of grapevine red blotch disease, which affects cultivated grapevines and leads to negative effects on crop quality and yield. GRBV is present in commercial vineyards across North America, indicating spread may have been largely human mediated. That said, recent surveys have demonstrated that there appears to be secondary transmission, most likely by an insect vector. Here, vineyard insects and plants were surveyed to identify potential candidate vectors and non-crop plants that may act as reservoirs for this pathogen. Results reconfirm that GRBV is limited to Vitis spp., including both cultivated and wild grapevines. Eleven insect genera or species, field collected in vineyards, tested positive for GRBV using quantitative PCR. These insect taxa include unknown Aphididae, the Cicadellids Aceratagallia spp., Acinopterus angulatus, Caladonus coquilleti, Colladonus montanus reductus, Colladonus sp., Empoasca spp., Erythroneura elegantula, and Scaphytopius graneticus, along with the Membracid Spissistilus festinus and an unknown Delphacid. Of these organisms, S. festinus is already known to be capable of transmitting GRBV while Scaphytopius graneticus may merit closer evaluation as a candidate vector.
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