Conventional and novel strategies for the phytoplasma diseases containment Bianco Piero Attilio*, Bulgari Daniela, Casati Paola, Quaglino Fabio Dipartimento di Produzione Vegetale- Patologia Vegetale, Università degli Studi di Milano, via Celoria, 2, 20133 Milano, Italy *Corresponding author e-mail: piero.bianco@unimi.it
Online published on 21 February, 2012. Abstract Phytoplasmas are obligate bacterial plant pathogens that cause economically relevant yield losses in crops worldwide and they are transmitted in nature by phloem feeders. Unsuccesses of cultivating phytoplasma impair the development of efficient methods to control these pathogens. Conventional strategies for phytoplasma containment are based on pesticide application against insect vectors, the use of resistant plants and the elimination of the pathogen from propagation materials. Moreover, other strategies such as the use of transgenic plants expressing phytoplasma-directed antibodies, antimicrobial peptides or elicitins have been proved partially ineffective. Recently, the availability of full genome sequences allowed to improve the knowledge of phytoplasma-hosts interaction, opening perspectives for developing new phytoplasma control strategies. Current studies evidenced that a promising approach could be the use of natural or induced resistance and biocontrol agents such as endophytes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Interestingly, biocontrol agents could be employed as phytoplasma vector pathogens, symbiotic microorganisms able to reduce vector competence, phytoplasma antagonists or inducers of plant defense response. In the next years, researches will focus on describing more accurately the biology of phytoplasmas and their interactions with the hosts (plants and insects) and the environments, giving the opportunity to design novel approaches for phytoplasma disease management. Top Keywords ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’, disease management, biocontrol, transgenic plants, insect vectors. Top |