Have Scientists Found a Way To Short-Circuit the Asian Citrus Psyllid?
March 18, 2021 
The Asian citrus psyllid can spread HLB when they feed on the leaves and stems of citrus trees. Growers continue to seek citrus psyllid control solutions.
HLB (aka, citrus greening) is and has been a huge challenge for citrus growers worldwide. It’s almost ironic that the tiniest of insects — the Asian citrus psyllid — is responsible for spreading the wide-reaching plague. But scientists are focusing in on the pest like never before. And a newly reported biotech breakthrough might ultimately change the game when it comes to citrus psyllid control.
Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, an Associate Professor of entomology and nematology at University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center, discovered that 2’-deoxy-2’-flouro-d-arabinonucleic acid antisense oligonucleotides (FANA ASO – small-sized single-stranded nucleic acids) can be used to silence essential genes within Asian citrus psyllids and in the bacterial pathogen that causes citrus greening disease.
In the study, which was recently published in Nature Scientific Reports, Pelz-Stelinski and her team were able to reduce the citrus greening disease pathogen in the psyllid and in citrus, leading to less transmission and a potential reduction in disease severity.
“The intent of this research was to find alternative, environmentally-friendly tools for psyllid management as current pest management strategies have led to the development of resistance among Asian citrus psyllid populations,” Pelz-Stelinski says. “Understanding the relationships of essential bacteria needed for insect survival provides potentially important targets for control strategies that use bactericides. By disrupting how the psyllid acquires and processes the pathogen while impacting the nutrition and fitness of the psyllid may provide an alternative management tool in controlling transmission of the HLB pathogen”
Researchers also looked at treating the roots of greening-infected citrus trees with specific types of FANA ASO. They found significant reductions of the citrus greening causing bacteria in the tree during a 30-day trial.
All experiments for the study were conducted in a lab setting and with citrus materials in a controlled environment. The next step would be to assess how the FANA ASO would perform in a field trial, according to the team.
The research was made possible with support from AUM Biotech, which designed and synthesized the FANO ASO, and funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension Program.
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