Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Survey of mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) vectors of Ampelovirus and Vitivirus in vineyards of northwestern Italy

  • Published:
Phytoparasitica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are sap-sucking insects which infest a broad range of crops worldwide. They represent an important threat to viticulture as they are vectors of viruses associated with leafroll and rugose wood complex diseases. In this study, we surveyed the presence of mealybugs and their associated viruses in vineyards of the Piemonte and Liguria regions, northwestern Italy. In order to determine the collected specimens correctly, we added a species-specific marker for Heliococcus bohemicus to an existing molecular identification key. The only species collected in Piemonte was H. bohemicus, whereas in Liguria, H. bohemicus, Planococcus ficus and Pseudococcus longispinus were found; Ps. longispinus has never before been reported in Italian vineyards. Several specimens of all three species were infected by the ampeloviruses GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3 and the vitivirus GVA. Both nymphs and adult females tested positive for the viruses and mixed infections were commonly found within the same insect. Population levels and virus incidence were higher in Liguria than in Piemonte, suggesting a greater risk of disease spread. We conclude that the mild, Mediterranean climate of Liguria favors the development of a diverse mealybug fauna while only H. bohemicus, known to be tolerant to the severe continental winter temperatures, colonize grapevines in colder viticultural areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abou-Ghanem, N., Saldarelli, P., Minafra, A., Buzkan, N., Castellano, M. A., & Martelli, G. P. (1997). Properties of Grapevine virus D, a novel putative Trichovirus. Journal of Plant Pathology, 78, 15–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alkowni, R., Rowhani, A., Daubert, S., & Golino, D. (2004). Partial characterization of a new Ampelovirus associated with grapevine leafroll disease. Journal of Plant Pathology, 86, 123–133.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ben-Dov, Y., Miller, D. R., & Gibson, G. A. P. (2010). ScaleNet: a database of the scale insects of the world. Available from http://www.sel.barc.usda.gov/SCALENET/scalenet.htm

  • Cabaleiro, C., & Segura, A. (1997). Field transmission of Grapevine leafroll associated virus 3 by Planococcus citri Risso. Plant Disease, 81, 283–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cabaleiro, C., & Segura, A. (2006). Temporal analysis of Grapevine leafroll associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) epidemics. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 114, 441–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camporese, P. (1994). Prime osservazioni sulla biologia di Heliococcus bohemicus Šulc nei vigneti del Veneto. Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana, 72, 195–200.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavalieri, V., Mazzeo, G., Garzia, G. T., Buonocore, E., & Russo, A. (2008). Identification of Planococcus ficus and Planococcus citri (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) by PCR-RFLP of COI gene. Zootaxa, 1816, 65–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dalla Montà, L., Duso, C., & Malagnini, V. (2001). Current status of scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) in the Italian vineyards. Bollettino di Zoologia agraria e di Bachicoltura, Ser II, 33, 343–350.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demontis, M. A., Ortu, S., Cocco, A., Lentini, A., & Migheli, Q. (2007). Diagnostic markers for Planococcus ficus (Signoret) and Planococcus citri (Risso) by random amplification of polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction and species-specific mitochondrial DNA primers. Journal of Applied Entomology, 131, 59–64.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, N., & Krüger, K. (2008). Transmission efficiency of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) by the mealybugs Planococcus ficus and Pseudococcus longispinus (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). European Journal of Plant Pathology, 122, 207–212.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Engelbrecht, D. J., & Kasdorf, G. G. F. (1990). Transmission of grapevine leafroll disease and associated closteroviruses by the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus. Phytophylactica, 22, 341–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fortusini, A. G., Scattini, G., Prati, S., Cinquanta, S., & Belli, G. (1997). Transmission of Grapevine leafroll virus-1 (GLRaV-1) and Grapevine virus A (GVA) by scale insects. Proceedings 12th Meeting of ICVG (Lisbon, Portugal), pp. 121–122.

  • Golino, D. A., Sim, S. T., Gill, R., & Rowhani, A. (2002). Grapevine leafroll disease can be spread by California mealybugs. California Agriculture, 56, 196–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gribaudo, I., Gambino, G., Bertin, S., Bosco, D., Cotroneo, A., & Mannini, F. (2009). Monitoring the spread of viruses after vineyard replanting with heat-treated clones of Vitis vinifera ‘Nebbiolo’. Journal of Plant Pathology, 91, 741–744.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hommay, G., Komar, V., Lemaire, O., & Herrbach, E. (2008). Grapevine virus A transmission by larvae of Parthenolecanium corni. European Journal of Plant Pathology, 121, 185–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koekemoer, L. L., Kamau, L., Hunt, R. H., & Coetzee, M. (2002). A cocktail polymerase chain reaction assay to identify members of the Anopheles funestus (Diptera: Culicidae) group. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 6, 804–811.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuniyuki, H., Gioria, R., Rezende, J. A. M., De Willink, C. G., Novo, J. P. S., & Yuki, V. A. (2006). Transmission of the Grapevine virus B by the mealybug Pseudococcus longispinus Targioni-Tozzetti (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Brazil. Summa Phytopathologica, 32, 151–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • La Notte, P., Buzkan, N., Choueiri, E., Minafra, A., & Martelli, G. P. (1997). Acquisition and transmission of Grapevine virus A by the mealybug Pseudococcus longispinus. Journal of Plant Pathology, 79, 79–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Larkin, M. A., Blackshields, G., Brown, N. P., Chenna, R., McGettigan, P. A., McWilliam, H., et al. (2007). ClustalW and ClustalX version 2. Bioinformatics, 23, 2947–2948.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MacKenzie, D. J. (1997). A standard protocol for the detection of viruses and viroids using a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique. Document CPHBT-RT-PCR1.00, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency. www.inspection.gc.ca

  • Maliogka, V. I., Dovas, C. I., & Katis, N. I. (2008). Evolutionary relationship of virus species belonging to a distinct lineage within the Ampelovirus genus. Virus Research, 135, 125–135.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martelli, G. P., Minafra, A., & Saldarelli, P. (1997). Vitivirus, a new genus of plant viruses. Archives of Virology, 142, 1929–1932.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martelli, G. P., Agranovsky, A. A., Bar-Joseph, M., Boscia, D., Candresse, T., Coutts, R. H. A., et al. (2002). The family Closteroviridae revised. Archives of Virology, 147, 2039–2044.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Millar, I. M. (2002). Mealybug genera (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) of South Africa: identification and review. African Entomology, 10, 185–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. R., Miller, G. L., & Watson, G. W. (2002). Invasive species of mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) and their threat to U.S. agriculture. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 104, 824–835.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pellizzari, G. (2006). Cocciniglie della vite e virus. Notiziario sulla protezione delle piante, 20, 127–134.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, C. L., & Charles, J. G. (1997). Transmission of Grapevine leafroll-associated closteroviruses by Pseudococcus longispinus and P. calceolariae. Plant Pathology, 46, 509–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reggiani, A., Cornale, R., Maini, S., & Pellizzari, G. (2003). Note biologiche e distribuzione di Heliococcus bohemicus Šulc (Rhynchota, Pseudococcidae) nei vigneti dell’Emilia Romagna. Informatore fitopatologico, 53, 42–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosciglione, B., & Castellano, M. A. (1985). Further evidence that mealybugs can transmit grapevine virus A (GVA) to herbaceous hosts. Phytopathologia Mediterranea, 24, 186–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saccaggi, D. L., Krüger, K., & Pietersen, G. (2008). A multiplex PCR assay for the simultaneous identification of three mealybug species (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Bulletin of Entomological Research, 98, 27–33.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sforza, R., Boudon-Padieu, E., & Greif, C. (2003). New mealybug species vectoring Grapevine leafroll associated viruses-1 and-3 (GLRaV-1 and-3). European Journal of Plant Pathology, 109, 975–981.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simon, C., Frati, F., Beckenbach, A., Crespi, B., Liu, H., & Flook, P. (1994). Evolution, weighting, and phylogenetic utility of mitochondrial gene sequences and a compilation of conserved polymerase chain reaction primers. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 87, 651–701.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Swallow, W. H. (1985). Group testing for estimating infection rates and probabilities of disease transmission. Phytopathology, 75, 882–889.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsai, C. W., Chau, J., Fernandez, L., Bosco, D., Daane, K. M., & Almeida, R. P. P. (2008). Transmission of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 by the vine mealybug (Planococcus ficus). Phytopathology, 98, 1093–1098.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y.-P., Uyemoto, J. K., Golino, D. A., & Rowhani, A. (1998). Nucleotide sequence and RT-PCR detection of a virus associated with grapevine rupestris stem-pitting disease. Phytopathology, 88, 1211–1217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zorloni, A., Prati, S., Bianco, P. A., & Belli, G. (2006). Transmission of Grapevine virus A and Grapevine leafroll-associated virus-3 by Heliococcus bohemicus. Journal of Plant Pathology, 88, 325–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zorloni, A., Molino Lova, M., Prati, S., & Belli, G. (2007). Acquisition of Grapevine leafroll-associated virus-1 by Planococcus ficus. Journal of Plant Pathology, 89, S67–S68.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Ivana Gribaudo, Giorgio Gambino and Franco Mannini (Istituto di Virologia Vegetale, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche) and are grateful to Prof. Giuseppina Pellizzari for the identification of Heliococcus bohemicus specimens. This work was supported by Regione Piemonte “Diffusione di reinfezioni virali nel vigneto e ruolo delle cocciniglie vettrici di virus” and MIUR “PRIN 2008: Identificazione di specie e varianti intra-specifiche di insetti fitomizi e parassitoidi mediante marcatori molecolari”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. DIVAPRA—Entomologia e Zoologia applicate all’Ambiente “Carlo Vidano”, Università di Torino, 10095, Grugliasco (TO), Italy

    Sabrina Bertin, Vincenzo Cavalieri, Carlo Graziano & Domenico Bosco

Authors
  1. Sabrina Bertin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vincenzo Cavalieri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Carlo Graziano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Domenico Bosco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Domenico Bosco.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bertin, S., Cavalieri, V., Graziano, C. et al. Survey of mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) vectors of Ampelovirus and Vitivirus in vineyards of northwestern Italy. Phytoparasitica 38, 401–409 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-010-0109-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-010-0109-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation