Experimental and Molecular Epidemiology of Phytoplasma Diseases and Diversity of Insect Vectors

Dear Colleagues,

Phytoplasmas are a diverse lineage of vector-borne bacteria (class Mollicutes) that cause severe yield losses in a wide range of agricultural crops and economically important plant species around the world. The impact of phytoplasma disease is more often on a large enough scale to threaten the economic viability of specific crops. Phytoplasmas are also unique plant pathogens in that they have a dual host infection cycle that involves intracellular multiplication in plants (diseased and reservoirs) as well as in phloem-feeding insects of the order Hemiptera (leafhoppers, planthoppers and psyllids). To understand disease etiology, epidemiology, and emergence drivers, experimental confirmation of the role of insect vectors in disease transmission, combined with data on their biology, ecology, and/or population genetics, phylogeography, and taxonomy, is critical.

The epidemiological cycles of phytoplasma diseases are strongly influenced by the diversity of insect vectors, their feeding preferences, i.e., the insect vectors' host plant range, and the diversity of phytoplasma reservoir plants. As a result, understanding and predicting epidemics, as well as intervening to mitigate their consequences in agroecosystems, rely heavily on the relationships and interactions between the host plant, the pathogen, and the specific insect vectors transmitting phytoplasmas.

The molecular epidemiology of phytoplasma is focused on the characterization of multiple genes and the distribution of different phytoplasma strains in their hosts (plants and insects). It combines epidemiological and molecular data to better understand how phytoplasmas spread between cultivated plants and natural environments. Understanding the drivers of disease spread and epidemic emergences requires knowledge of the diversity of tentative or proven insect vectors within a specific pathosystem or between natural habitats and agro-ecosystems under disease pressure.

For this Special Issue, we invite you to submit contributions related to the experimental and molecular epidemiology of phytoplasmas, studies on experimental confirmation of vector role for particular insect species or group of species, as well as on the overall diversity of tentative insect vectors and associated phytoplasma genotypes in particular agroecosystems or pathosystems. These aspects of phytoplasma epidemiology and their associated vectors are essential for improving our understanding of all constituents of future outbreaks, while seeking to predict and prevent them.

Dr. Ivo Toševski
Dr. Jelena Jović
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.