Association of the Pathogen <i>Spiroplasma kunkelii</i> with Corn Stunt Symptoms in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Alabama During the 2024 Growing Season

Corn stunt is one of the most significant corn diseases in the Neotropics, leading to severe plant stunting and substantial yield losses. Although four pathogens have been found either singly or in combination in infected plants in the Americas, corn stunt spiroplasma ( Spiroplasma kunkelii) has been the most predominant pathogen associated with the disease in the United States, due to its widespread distribution in the Rio Grande Valley region and persistent occurrence in California and Florida. During the 2024 growing season, reports of chlorosis, leaf reddening, and stunting in corn fields in Southern, Great Plains, Central Corn Belt, and Northeastern states raised concern regarding the possibility of a more widespread distribution of corn stunt spiroplasma in the United States. Symptomatic corn leaf samples were collected in commercial and experimental field sites across the United States. Detection and identification of S. kunkelii were performed using a polymerase chain reaction assay targeting a section of the spiralin gene, followed by amplicon sequencing. This study provides the first report of the pathogen S. kunkelii associated with corn stunt symptoms distributed across 6 counties in Oklahoma, 14 counties in Kansas, 2 counties in Missouri and Arkansas, 4 counties in New York, and 1 county in each of Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Alabama. All states with submitted samples had at least one confirmed case of S. kunkelii.

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Publication Details

Journal
Plant Health Progress
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1094/php-03-25-0082-sc
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Plant Virus Research Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.50
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article

Association of the Pathogen Spiroplasma kunkelii with Corn Stunt Symptoms in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Alabama During the 2024 Growing Season

John Bonkowski, James P. Stack, Tamra A. Jackson‐Ziems, Rodrigo Onofre et al.
2 citations
Plant Health Progress
Plant Virus Research Studies
3.50
article

Association of the Pathogen Spiroplasma kunkelii with Corn Stunt Symptoms in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Alabama During the 2024 Growing Season

John Bonkowski, James P. Stack, Tamra A. Jackson‐Ziems, Rodrigo Onofre, Mandy Bish, Kassie Conner, Michael J. Stanyard, Charles Day, Madalyn K. Shires, C. Tande, B. D. Hudelson, Kyle Broderick, Peng Tian, José E. Solórzano, R. A. Aguiar, Maíra Rodrigues Duffeck, Michael E. Hunter, Anthony Zukoff, Ashleigh M. Faris, Gary C. Bergstrom, Tom Creswell, Dean K. Malvick, Jennifer D. Olson, Andrés S. Espíndola, Darcy E. P. Telenko, Edward J. Sikora, Ivair Valmorbida, Travis Faske, Damon L. Smith, Lili Zhang, João Murilo Zambiasi, L. Müller, S Wallace, Astri Wayabande
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Corn stunt is one of the most significant corn diseases in the Neotropics, leading to severe plant stunting and substantial yield losses. Although four pathogens have been found either singly or in combination in infected plants in the Americas, corn stunt spiroplasma ( Spiroplasma kunkelii) has been the most predominant pathogen associated with the disease in the United States, due to its widespread distribution in the Rio Grande Valley region and persistent occurrence in California and Florida. During the 2024 growing season, reports of chlorosis, leaf reddening, and stunting in corn fields in Southern, Great Plains, Central Corn Belt, and Northeastern states raised concern regarding the possibility of a more widespread distribution of corn stunt spiroplasma in the United States. Symptomatic corn leaf samples were collected in commercial and experimental field sites across the United States. Detection and identification of S. kunkelii were performed using a polymerase chain reaction assay targeting a section of the spiralin gene, followed by amplicon sequencing. This study provides the first report of the pathogen S. kunkelii associated with corn stunt symptoms distributed across 6 counties in Oklahoma, 14 counties in Kansas, 2 counties in Missouri and Arkansas, 4 counties in New York, and 1 county in each of Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, and Alabama. All states with submitted samples had at least one confirmed case of S. kunkelii.

Plant Health ProgressVol. 26(4)
University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US), Oklahoma State University (US), University of Minnesota (US), New York State Department of State (US), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), State Street (United States) (US), South Dakota State University (US), Kansas State University (US), Cornell University (US), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), University of Arkansas System (US), Oklahoma State University System (US), Planta (RU), For farmers (United Kingdom) (GB), Plant (United States) (US), Auburn University System (US), Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Jefferson County (US), University of Missouri System (US), Southwest Minnesota State University (US), University of Missouri (US), University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (US), Auburn University (US)
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Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Plant Virus Research Studies
3.50
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