Xylella fastidiosa causes bacterial leaf scorch in southern highbush (Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrids) and is also associated with a distinct disease phenotype in rabbiteye blueberry (V. virgatum) cultivars in the southeastern U.S. Both subspecies X.f. fastidiosa and X.f. multiplex have been reported to cause problems in southern highbush blueberry, but so far only X.f. multiplex has been reported in rabbiteye cultivars in Louisiana. In this study, we report detection of X. fastidiosa in rabbiteye blueberry plants in association with symptoms of foliar reddening and shoot dieback. High throughput sequencing of a X. fastidiosa-positive plant sample and comparative analyses identified the strain in one of these plants as being X. fastidiosa subspecies fastidiosa. We briefly discuss the implications of these findings, which may spur research into blueberry as a potential inoculum source that could enable spread to other susceptible fruit crops in South Carolina.
Keywords: Causal Agent; Crop Type; Fruit; Pathogen detection; Prokaryotes; Subject Areas; small fruits.