DETECTION AND TRANSMISSION OF A GRAM-NEGATIVE, XYLEM-LIMITED BACTERIUM IN SHARPSHOOTERS FROM A CITRUS GROVE IN FLORIDA

A bacterium was detected by scanning electron microscopy in the pump organs of sharpshooter leafhoppers (O. nigricans) collected monthly from a blighted citrus grove. The percentage of O. nigricans carrying bacteria reached a peak of 10% in Aug., 1980. O. nigricans from the same collections transmitted a xylem-limited bacterium to ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) but not to grape (Vitis vinifera), periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri) or American elder (Sambucus canadensis). The bacterium reacted with fluorescein-labeled antiserum to the Pierce''s disease bacterium.