Recently, a new phytoplasma was discovered in Hillsborough County in the state of Florida, USA. This phytoplasma belongs to the 16SrIV taxonomic group and is classified as subgroup D. It is the causal agent of lethal bronzing disease (LBD) of palm. Since the discovery of LBD in 2006, the disease has spread throughout much of the state. In 2014 and 2015, stands of cabbage palm and queen palms that had been present at the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center in Davie, FL began showing symptoms of LBD. After confirming the presence of the LBD phytoplasma in initially infected palms by nested PCR and RFLP analysis, all palms were systematically sampled over the period of 1 year to monitor and quantify disease spread. A total of 30 cabbage palms were tested monthly by qPCR, with five testing positive on the first sample date. By the end of the study period, 16 cabbage palms had died from the infection. A total of 16 queen palms were surveyed, with three palms initially testing positive. By the end of the study, four queen palms had tested positive and died from the infection. To the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to document and quantify spread of palm-infecting phytoplasmas. This data provides important insights into the ecology of palm-infecting phytoplasmas and highlights the impact that the movement of infective insects can pose to established stands of palms.
Coptotermes gestroi (Wasmann) and Coptotermes formosanus (Shiraki) represent the most widely distributed subterraean termites (Rhinotermitidae) in the world. The wide distribution of C. gestroi has only come to light in the past decade, as numerous junior synonyms for this tropical termite have been resolved. With C. gestroi found in the equatorial zone, and C. formosanus in the subtropics and warm temperate regions, the distributions of these two invasive termites currently overlap in only three locations in the world: Taiwan, Hawaii and Florida. Comparative studies have identified a number of biological and behavioral differences between the two species, such as greater desiccation tolerance in C. formosanus, as well as a possible variation in aggressiveness related to the origin of different C. gestroi populations. The tunneling patterns of C. gestroi and C. formosanus are quite distinct, and appear to reflect both the distribution of woody resources in the ecological zones inhabited by each species and selection of different optimal foraging strategies.
In recent years, a new pest has been reported in Guatemalan fir (Abies guatemalensis) plantations, a biofilm of microorganisms known as “green algae”. The objective of this research was to identify the algae and fungi that make up the biofilm growing on Guatemalan fir leaves. Leaf samples were collected from three locations where the biofilm has been reported, and the algae and fungi present on the leaves were isolated. Microorganisms were cultured in vitro and identified by light microscopy; in the case of fungi, DNA extraction and amplification of the ITS region were also performed. Four algae of the genera Desmococcus, Klebsormidium and the class Trebouxiophyceae, and 11 fungi of the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Mucor, Trichoderma and Ulocladium were identified from 120 leaves of 15 trees. It was concluded that the biofilm affecting Guatemalan fir plantations in Guatemala is composed of several species of epiphytic algae and fungi, which may vary according to the locality. The factors affecting the richness of microorganisms in the biofilm and their symbiotic relationship still need to be addressed.
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