Journal of Economic Entomology (2017) 110, 2301-2307

Ari Grode, Shicheng Chen, Edward D. Walker and Zsofia Szendrei (2017)
Onion thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) feeding promotes infection by Pantoea ananatis in onion
Journal of Economic Entomology 110 (6), 2301-2307
Abstract: Onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, is a primary insect pest of onions (Allium cepa) worldwide. Onion thrips cause feeding damage by destroying epidermal tissue. They are also vectors of Pantoea ananatis (Serrano) Mergaert, the bacteria that causes center rot. Onions with center rot develop white streaks with water-soaked margins along the onion leaves, which turn necrotic and lead to bulb rot during storage. The role of thrips feeding on the establishment and progression of bacterial infection in onions has not been investigated. Onions infested with thrips and inoculated with P. ananatis had more necrotic tissue and symptoms were more severe with increasing thrips density. We conducted a fluorescence microscopy study that examined how P. ananatis (expressing a fluorescence protein gene) colonized a control group of onions without thrips in comparison to a test group of onions with thrips. We found that P. ananatis colonized some onions in the control group because of naturally existing wounds in the epidermal tissue but more colonization was found in the thrips infested group because of the increased presence of entry points caused by thrips feeding. Overall, our results demonstrate that wounds caused by thrips feeding facilitate center rot development by providing entry sites for the bacteria into leaf tissue.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Zsofia Szendrei

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
transmission/dispersal of plant diseases

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Thrips tabaci	Onion/garlic/leek (Allium)
	Pantoea ananatis	Onion/garlic/leek (Allium)