Plants under Siege: Investigating the Relevance of '. P. solani' Cixiid Vectors through a Multi-Test Study.

Crop losses caused by the plant pathogenic bacterium ' Phytoplasma solani' (CaPsol) underscore the need to better understand its perplexing epidemiological pathways. (Hemiptera, Cixiidae) is a prominent CaPsol vector with three plant associations in Serbia (/HobsUd; /HobsCa; /HobsCf). Another cixiid planthopper, (Dufour), has been recently confirmed as a noteworthy CaPsol vector. A multi-test study assessed the relevance of associations and populations from and in CaPsol occurrence in sugar beet, maize, and tobacco. Molecular typing of the CaPsol strains transmitted to test plants in experimental trials provided the first evidence of HobsUd transmitting CaPsol tuf-a type to sugar beet, HobsCa infecting maize and tobacco with tuf-b type, and HobsCf transmitting CaPsol tuf-b to maize. Affiliation of with the specific CaPsol genotype, dSTOLg, was reaffirmed in this study. The possible involvement of in maize redness disease and tobacco stolbur was suggested, given that this cixiid was identified as a vector of CaPsol to these crops. The obtained results indicate that the tested vectors pose a threat to cultivated plants in Serbia, underscoring the need to recognize their relevance in CaPsol disease occurrences.