Colonization of the Sharpshooter Vectors,Oncometopia nigricansandHomalodisca coagulata,by Xylem-Limited Bacteria

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Abstract
Xylem-limited bacteria (often referred to as rickettsia-like bacteria) were observed in the cibarium, the apodemal groove of the diaphragm and the precibarium of the sharpshooters, O. nigricans and H. coagulata, by scanning electron microscopy. Bacteria colonized the cibarium, precibarium and apodemal groove of the diaphragm of O. nigricans after the insects had fed on Pierce''s disease-affected grapes or periwinkle wilt-affected Catharanthus roseus. In H. coagulata, which were collected from orchards with phony peach disease or fed on plum leaf scaled-affected plants, bacteria were attached to the floor of the cibarium, the apodemal groove of the diaphragm and the walls of the precibarial area above and below the valve. Bacteria in both sharpshooter species were attached by 1 end to the walls of the cibarium and precibarium by means of extracellular material and possibly fimbrae-like structures. Some dividing bacteria were observed.