Research identifies imaging technique for laboratory diagnosis of greening

Fundecitrus participated in research by the Unicamp Chemistry Institute that identified the potential of a mass spectrometry imaging technique for the laboratory diagnosis of greening from leaves, with simple sample preparation and quick results.

The technique analyzes the chemical composition of the leaves and confirms whether they come from plants with greening according to the occurrence of compounds that are related to the presence of the bacteria. Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, such as the carbohydrate sucrose, the amino acid phenylalanine, quinic acid and other metabolites (flavones and diterpenoids).

The diagnosis of greening made today by the Fundecitrus Diagnostic Laboratory uses the qPCR method: from the identification of the bacteria's DNA Approx. Liberibacter on leaves it is possible to confirm the disease. The new technique has similar reliability and results are obtained more quickly. Comparative trials in relation to PCR are underway.

“Mass spectrometry is a confirmatory technique for greening in a symptomatic plant that, in the future, can speed up the diagnosis made in samples for citrus growers and for research and that helps us understand, from a biochemical point of view, the spatial distribution of the compounds present in a sick plant”, explains Fundecitrus researcher Nelson Wulff, responsible for the Fundecitrus diagnostic service.

The work was published in Scientific Reports, available here.