View source for Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2003) 69, 7319-7327

{{Publication
|Publication authors=Karyn L. Newman, [[Rodrigo P.P. Almeida]], [[Alexander H. Purcell]] and [[Steven E. Lindow]]
|Author Page=Alexander H. Purcell, Steven E. Lindow, Rodrigo P.P. Almeida
|Publication date=2003
|dc:title=Use of a green fluorescent strain for analysis of ''[[Xylella fastidiosa]]'' colonization of ''Vitis vinifera ''
|Publication journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|prism:volume=69 (12)
|prism:startingPage=7319
|Last page=7327
|External link=http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/69/12/7319
|Publication abstract=''Xylella fastidiosa'' causes Pierce's disease of grapevine as well as several other major agricultural diseases but is a benign endophyte in most host plants. ''X. fastidiosa'' colonizes the xylem vessels of host plants and is transmitted by xylem sap-feeding insect vectors. To understand better the pattern of host colonization and its relationship to disease, we engineered ''X. fastidiosa<sup>'' </sup>to express a green fluorescent protein (Gfp) constitutively and performed confocal laser-scanning microscopic analysis of colonization in a susceptible host, ''Vitis vinifera.'' In symptomatic leaves, the fraction of vessels colonized by ''X. fastidiosa'' was fivefold higher than in nearby asymptomatic leaves. The fraction of vessels completely blocked by ''X. fastidiosa'' colonies increased 40-fold in symptomatic leaves and was the feature of colonization most dramatically linked to symptoms. Therefore, the extent of vessel blockage by bacterial colonization is highly likely to be a crucial variable in symptom expression. Intriguingly, a high proportion (>80%) of colonized vessels were not blocked in infected leaves and instead had small colonies or solitary cells, suggesting that vessel blockage is not a colonization strategy employed by the pathogen but, rather, a by-product of endophytic colonization. We present evidence for ''X. fastidiosa<sup>'' </sup>movement through bordered pits to neighboring vessels and propose that vessel-to-vessel movement is a key colonization strategy whose failure results in vessel plugging and disease.
|AbstractCC=Yes
|Research topic=general biology - morphology - evolution
|Is book=No
}}
{{Pest record
|Pest=Xylella fastidiosa
|Crop=Grapevine (Vitis)
|Quarantined=No
}}