Five leafhopper species captured in Chilean vineyards are new vectors of 16SrIII-J phytoplasmas

In Chile the phytoplasmas associated to grapevine yellows are ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ (ribosomal subgroups 16SrI-B and 16SrI-C), ‘Ca. P. pruni’ (16SrIII-J), ‘Ca. P. ulmi’ (16SrV-A), ‘Ca. P. fraxini’ (16SrVII-A), and ‘Ca. P. solani’ (16SrXII-A) (Gajardo et al., 2009; Fiore et al., 2015a). However, recent work showed that the phytoplasmas 16SrIII-J are the prevalent (González et al., 2011; Fiore et al., 2015b; Quiroga et al., 2017a, 2019a) and the "flavescence dorée" phytoplasmas and its vector Scaphoideus titanus, have not been found in Chile (Quiroga et al., 2017b). Previous studies indicate that non-grapevine plants from different botanical families present in the vineyards and in their vicinity (Convolvulus arvensis, Galega officinalis, Polygonum aviculare, Malva sp., Brassica rapa, Rubus ulmifolius, and Rosa sp.) are infected by 16SrIII-J phytoplasmas, and the leafhoppers Paratanus exitiosus and Bergallia valdiviana are vectors of the same pathogen. Other leafhopper species, Bergallia sp., Amplicephalus ornatus, Amplicephalus curtulus, Amplicephalus pallidus, and Exitianus obscurinervis, captured in a vineyard in Valparaiso region planted with cultivar Pinot noir, were infected by 16SrIII-J phytoplasmas (Zamorano et al. 2015; Quiroga et al., 2019b, 2019c, 2020). Transmission trials were performed to find out if these insect species are vectors.