Salvatore Walter Davino

• PhD in plant pathology
• Full Professor at University of Palermo

This collaborative work by over 180 researchers from 40+ countries addresses the challenges posed by "phantom agents"-putative patho-genic agents named in literature without supporting data on their existence. Those agents remain on regulatory lists, creating barriers in trade and plant certification. Historically identified based solely on symptom...

Erysiphe corylacearum has recently been reported in northern Italy (Piedmont) and other European countries as the causal agent of a new emerging powdery mildew on hazelnut. This disease is much more dangerous than the common hazelnut powdery mildew caused by Phyllactinia guttata as it significantly reduces yield and quality of hazelnuts. This study...

The tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) currently represents one of the most significant threats to tomato crop worldwide. Its transmission occurs mainly through contact between plants and infected surfaces, and only one case of mechanical transmission by arthropods has been reported. Here, we aim to assess the role of an invasive tomato pest,...

Tomato is one of the most important crops worldwide, with a production of ≈190 million tons, but it is constantly threatened by several viral diseases. Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), identified in 2014 on tomato plants and subsequently reported in many countries, represents one of the major threats to tomato crops, due to production loss...

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is considered one of the most threatening viruses worldwide for different economically important agricultural crops. In this scenario, it is important to perform an early detection by laboratory tests to prevent TSWV spread. A rapid and sensitive TSWV detection protocol based on real time reverse transcription loop-...

3.2 Viral diseases of vegetables (3.2.2 Tomato)

Background: Plant pathogens are commonly identified in the field by the typical disease symptoms that they can cause. The efficient early detection and identification of pathogens are essential procedures to adopt effective management practices that reduce or prevent their spread in order to mitigate the negative impacts of the disease. Herein, in...

Olive trees (Olea europea L.) are constantly threatened by many viruses, such as the olive leaf yellowing-associated virus (OLYaV), that belong to the Olivavirus genus, family Closteroviridae. In this work, the OLYaV incidence in different regions of Italy and Spain, which represent the two most important European areas for olive production, was ev...

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) represents a threat to economically important horticultural crops. A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for in-field ToLCNDV detection was developed, coupled to a rapid sample preparation method, and tested both in field and laboratory conditions on zucchini squash, tomato, and p...

Background: Plant pathogens are commonly identified in the field by the typical disease symptoms that they can cause. The efficient early detection and identification of pathogens are essential procedures to adopt effective management practices that reduce or prevent their spread in order to mitigate the negative impacts of the disease. Herein, in...

Environmental concerns raised by synthetic nematicides are encouraging integrated management strategies based on their combination with non-chemical control tools, such as biocontrol agents and/or organic amendments. In this study, the combination of the fumigant 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) with a commercial formulation of the biocontrol agent Tric...

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L., family Solanaceae) represents one of the most cultivated horticultural crops worldwide, with over 5 million hectares of cultivated area and more than 182 million tons of tomato produced globally. Nevertheless, monoculture conditions, intensive selection, domestication throughout the last decades, international trade...

One of the most destructive diseases affecting grapevine in Europe is caused by Flavescence Dorée phytoplasma (FDp), which belongs to the 16Sr-V group and is a European Union quarantine pathogen. Although many molecular techniques such as loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) are widely used for the rapid detection of FDp in infected grapev...

Grapevine virus A (GVA) is a phloem-restricted virus (genus Vitivirus, family Betaflexiviridae) that cause crop losses of 5–22% in grapevine cultivars, transmitted by different species of pseudococcid mealybugs, the mealybug Heliococcus bohemicus, and by the scale insect Neopulvinaria innumerabilis. In this work, we studied the genetic structure an...

Olive quick decline syndrome (OQDS), which is caused by Xylella fastidiosa, poses a severe threat to the agriculture of Mediterranean countries and causes severe damage to the olive trees in Italy. Since no effective control measures are currently available, the objective of this study was the screening of antagonistic bacteria that are potentially...

Background: the most widely distributed and virulent Grapevine leafroll-associated viruses (GLRaV) that affect grapevine are GLRaV-1 and GLRaV-3, transmitted semi-persistently by different mealybugs and soft scales, mainly causing downward rolling of the leaf margins and interveinal reddening. Methods: the main objectives of this study were to inve...

A real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed for simple, rapid and efficient detection of the Olea europaea geminivirus (OEGV), a virus recently reported in different olive cultivation areas worldwide. A preliminary screening by end-point PCR for OEGV detection was conducted to ascertain the presence of OEGV in Sici...

Endophytes are symptomless fungal and/or bacterial microorganisms found in almost all living plant species. The symbiotic association with their host plants by colonizing the internal tissues has endowed them as a valuable tool to suppress diseases, stimulate growth, and promote stress resistance. In this context, the study of culturable endophytes...

GLRAV-1 i GLRAV-3, na autohtonim kultivarima Žilavka i Blatina na lokalitetu Lopate u mostarskom vinogorju, 21st scientific-expert conference in agriculture and food industry, Neum:130-131. Karačić A., Matić S., Delić D., Vončina D., Đermić E. (2016). Occurrence of the grapevine viruses in population of Bosnia and Herzegovina autochthonous grapevin...

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), family Solanaceae, has become in the past fifty years one of the most important and extensively grown horticultural crops in the Mediterranean region and throughout the world. In 2019, more than 180 million tonnes of tomato have been produced worldwide, out of which around 42 million tonnes in Mediterranean countri...

Parietaria mottle virus (PMoV) is considered an emerging virus in many countries of the Mediterranean basin, especially on tomato and pepper crops. Symptoms on tomato leaves and fruits can be easily confused with those induced by cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) with necrogenic satellite RNA (CMV-satRNA), tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) or tomato mosai...

Grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV) is one of the main causes of grapevine fanleaf degeneration disease (GFDD) and is present in almost all areas where grapevine is cultivated. In this work, we ascertained the presence and spread of GFLV in different commercial vineyards in four Sicilian provinces (Italy), and its genetic structure and molecular variabi...

The present research was aimed at testing the potential validity of Lorenzini’s hypothesis against Covid-19, based on the use of far UV-C rays directly on the patient’s ill lungs, so to significantly reduce the virus presence and with it the interstitial pneumonia, the cause of most deaths. Not having had the chance to experiment directly on the SA...

The sanitary status of grapevines has not yet been considered sufficiently in vineyards throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). An extensive survey of five major grapevine viruses in the country was carried out in 2019. A total of 630 samples from the two dominant autochthonous cultivars, named Žilavka and Blatina, were tested by DAS-ELISA for the...

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is a highly infectious virus, that is becoming a threat to tomato production worldwide. In this work we evaluated the localization of ToBRFV particles in tomato seeds, its seed transmission rate and efficacy of disinfection, and the effects of different thermal- and chemical-based treatments on ToBRFV-infect...

A reexamination of proteins with conserved cysteines and basic amino acids encoded by the 3′-proximal gene of the positive-sense single-stranded RNA of some monopartite filamentous plant viruses has been carried out. The cysteines are involved in a putative Zn-finger domain, which, together with the basic amino acids, form part of the nuclear or nu...

Broad bean wilt virus 1 (BBWV-1, genus Fabavirus, family Secoviridae) is a bipartite, single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus infecting many horticultural and ornamental crops worldwide. RNA1 encodes proteins involved in viral replication whereas RNA2 encodes two coat proteins (the large and small coat proteins) and two putative movement proteins...

Broad bean wilt virus 1 (BBWV-1, genus Fabavirus, family Secoviridae) is a bipartite positive single-stranded RNA (+ssRNA) virus infecting important horticultural and ornamental crops worldwide. RNA1 encodes proteins involved in virus replication, whereas RNA2 encodes the large and small coat proteins (LCP, and SCP, respectively) and two putative m...

Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is an emerging pathogen that causes severe disease in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops. The first ToBRFV outbreak in Italy occurred in 2018 in several Sicilian provinces, representing a serious threat for tomato production. In the present work, the spatiotemporal displacement of ToBRFV in Sicily was ev...

In the last decades, the evolution of molecular diagnosis methods has generated different advanced tools, like loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Currently, it is a well-established technique, applied in different fields, such as the medicine, agriculture, and food industries, owing to its simplicity, specificity, rapidity, and low-cost...

Background Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is a highly infectious tobamovirus that causes severe disease in tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops. In Italy, the first ToBRFV outbreak occurred in 2018 in several provinces of the Sicily region. ToBRFV outbreak represents a serious threat for tomato crops in Italy and the Mediterranean Basi...

Xylella fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 (Xf) is the causal agent of the Olive Quick Decline in Apulia region, whose control is still lacking. Olive varieties show a different susceptibility to Xylella infection which is also associated with the presence of resistance genes. Recently, the study of plant microbiota has raised particular interest because...

The purposes of this study were 1) to determine the total fungal contamination in Sicilian raw materials and livestock, 2) to evaluate the occurrence of Aspergillus spp., Penicillium spp. and Fusarium spp., 3) to identify fungi belonging to the genus Aspergillus and 4) to determine their ability to produce cellulolytic enzymes. Fourteen feed sample...

Because of the restrictions on chemical pesticide use and their negative effects on the environment, as well as on human and animal health, alternative strategies for plant pest and pathogen managements are highly desirable. The objective of this work was to evaluate the suitability of a commercial formulation of Bacillus firmus strain 1-1582, appl...

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae) identified for the first time in 1995 in Asia, from which it spread in several countries of the Mediterranean basin. ToLCNDV was found in Spain in 2012, subsequently in Tunisia and Italy. The first outbreak in Italy occurred at the end of 2015 in Trapani pr...

Four allotetraploid somatic hybrids of citrus, with potential for rootstock improvement, have been evaluated for their response to Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) infection. CTV is the most important viral pathogen affecting citrus production worldwide. Somatic combinations of ‘Milam’ lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.) + Sour orange (C. aurantium L Osb.), C...

Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is responsible for severe damage to horticultural and ornamental crops worldwide, mainly for its role as virus vector. In Italy, the B. tabaci Mediterranean (MED) and Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) cryptic species are widespread in the Southern regions as well as in Sicily and Sardinia. During the last two...

The relevant regions in Panama involved in commercial tomato production, including the Chiriquí, Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos and Panama Oeste provinces, were surveyed for the distribution and genetic diversity of potato yellow mosaic Panama virus (PYMPV) in the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012. A total of 28 tomato plots were surveyed and 314 ind...

In July 2016, an aggressive syndrome of tomato yellow leaf curl disease was reported in Sicily in tomato plants carrying the Ty-1 resistance gene. A total of 34 samples were collected and analyzed. Twenty-seven out of the 34 samples analyzed appeared to contain only recombinant molecules. One full sequence was obtained after cloning. Alignments and...

Different ornamental plants showing symptoms indicating phytoplasma presence were collected between 1993 and 2016 in various floricultural areas in north and south of Italy, including Sicily. These samples were determined to be infected by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’-related strains, and after PCR/RFLP identification based on the 16S rRNA gene...

Southern tomato virus (STV) is a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus belonging to the genus Amalgavirus from the family Amalgamaviridae. STV has been detected in tomato plants showing symptoms of stunting, fruit discoloration and size reduction, although its role on symptom development is unclear. Also, little is known about the incidence and epidemi...

Medicinal mushrooms represent an unlimited source of polysaccharides with nutritional, antitumoral, antibacterial, and immune-stimulating properties. Traditional studies of epigeous higher Basidiomycetes have recently been joined by studies of hypogeous fungi and, in particular, of so-called desert truffles. With the aim to obtain novel agents agai...

The goals of modern agriculture are obtaining high yields that meet the increasing nutritional requirements of the World population. This is extremely difficult for three kind of reasons: i) the lands dedicated to agricultural use are strongly reduced in industrialized Countries; ii) farmers prefer an homogeneous product, because it is easier to ma...

RESUMEN Se realizaron prospecciones en cultivos de tomate de las provincias de Chiriquí, Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé y Panamá Oeste, con el objetivo de determinar la incidencia y distribución geográfica de begomovirus durante el período 2011-2012. Se recolectaron 319 muestras de hojas de plantas de tomate mostrando síntomas similares a los...

Sweet pepper ( Capsicum annum ) is an economically important crop worldwide, including Sicily where about 4,000 hectares are grown each year. In October 2015, severe symptoms not previously reported by growers in the horticultural area of …

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) is a highly infectious potexvirus that causes a severe disease in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops worldwide. In Sicily, the first outbreak was detected in a single greenhouse in 2005 and it was promptly eradicated. However, in 2008, a high number of greenhouses were simultaneously affected, and it was impossible to e...

Different ornamental plants showing symptoms referable to phytoplasma presence and collected between 1993 and 2015 in various floricultural areas in north and south of Italy, enclosing Sicily, resulted to be infected by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’-related strains, and after PCR/RFLP identification on 16Sr gene were assigned to 16SrI-B subgroup...

Different ornamental plants showing symptoms referable to phytoplasma presence and collected between 1993 and 2015 in various floricultural areas in north and south of Italy, enclosing Sicily, resulted to be infected by ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’-related strains, and after PCR/RFLP identification on 16Sr gene were assigned to 16SrI-B subgroup...

Background: Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is a widespread disease and the most destruction causing agent of citrus. Pakistan is ranked amongst the top ten citrus producing countries around the globe and it contributes about 2% to its foreign exchange earnings. Based on this assumption it is very important to monitor and determine the evolutionary for...

Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) is a bipartite begomovirus (family Geminiviridae ) which infects species in the families Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae (Padidam et al ., 1995; Mizutani et al ., 2011). Begomoviruses are transmitted by…

Investigations on Tirmania pinoyi and Terfezia claveryi, collected in winter 2013 in Northern Borders Province of Saudi Arabia, were carried out in order to test the potential in vitro antagonistic activity of their extracts against plant pathogenic bacteria. The collected desert truffles were firstly identified in laboratory according to their mac...

The development of novel antimicrobials in the struggle against pathogens and antibiotic resistance is one of the most important global challenges of our time. Medicinal mushrooms represent an unlimited source of polysaccharides with nutritional, antitumoral, antibacterial and immune stimulating properties[1]. In recent years the traditional studie...

The genetic variability and evolution of parietaria mottle virus (PMoV) of the genus Ilarvirus was studied by analyzing nucleotide sequences of 2b and CP genes from isolates collected in different countries. Phylogenetic analysis showed that PMoV isolates clustered in different clades: one (clade I) composed of only Italian isolates and three clade...

The key regions in Panama involved in open field- and greenhouse-grown commercial tomato production, including the Chiriquí, Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé and Panama Oeste provinces, were surveyed for the incidence and distribution of begomoviruses in the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012. The surveys took place in 14 of the 51 districts of t...

In April 2011 and September 2012, virus-like symptoms were observed in open field- and greenhouse-grown tomato crops ( Solanum lycopersicum ) in Chiriqui, the westernmost province of Panama. Samples from symptom-bearing plants (127 in all)…

Viruses cause significant damage in agricultural crops worldwide. Disease management requires sensitive and specific tools for virus detection and identification. Also, detection techniques need to be rapid to keep pace with the continuous emergence of new viral diseases. The genus Fabavirus is composed of five viruses infecting many economically i...

Malattia distruttiva degli agrumi, associata a batteri del genere 'Candidatus Liberibacter' trasmessi da psille, colpisce tutte le specie e le cultivar di agrumi, a prescindere dal portinnesto. Sia i batteri sia i loro vettori sono organismi da quarantena. Impedirne l’ingresso in Europa e nella regione mediterranea è indispensabile se si vogliono e...

The evolution of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) from outbreaks occurred in Calabria, Italy, was compared with that of CTV outbreaks reported previously in another two proximal Italian regions, Sicily and Apulia. Examination of four genomic regions (genes p20, p25 and p23, and one fragment of open reading frame 1) showed two recombination events, and p...

Plant diseases are responsible for major economic losses in the agricultural industry worldwide. Monitoring plant health and detecting pathogen early are essential to reduce disease spread and facilitate effective management practices. DNA-based and serological methods now provide essential tools for accurate plant disease diagnosis, in addition to...

Bayesian phylogenetic tree drawn for the p20 gene from 108 CTV isolates from Sicily (sequenced in this work; highlighted in gray) plus 116 worldwide CTV isolates (from GenBank). Node significances are indicated by Bayesian posterior probabilities. Phylogenetic clades with Sicilian isolates are indicated as A, B, C, D and E. (TIF)

This file includes Table S1 and Table S2. (DOC)

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) outbreaks were detected in Sicily island, Italy for the first time in 2002. To gain insight into the evolutionary forces driving the emergence and phylogeography of these CTV populations, we determined and analyzed the nucleotide sequences of the p20 gene from 108 CTV isolates collected from 2002 to 2009. Bayesian phylog...

Lamium mild mosaic virus (LMMV) is the only one of the five members of the genus Fabavirus for which there are no nucleotide sequence data. In this study, the complete genome sequence of LMMV was determined and compared with the available complete genome sequences of other members of the genus Fabavirus. The genome was the largest of the genus but...

In the Summer of 2012, Erysimum linifolium L. pot plants produced at an ornamental grower in Liguria region (northern Italy), showed unusual virus-like disease of dark mottle and stripes on mauve-purple petals. A virus was mechanically transmitted from symptomatic flowers to several test plant species belonging to Chenopodiaceae and Brassicaceae fa...

GenBank Accession Numbers KC595304 and KC595305 represent sequences from the 2 segments of Lamium mild mosaic virus isolate DSMZ PV-0454. ##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: Staden Package v. February 1, 2011 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

GenBank Accession Numbers KC595304 and KC595305 represent sequences from the 2 segments of Lamium mild mosaic virus isolate DSMZ PV-0454. ##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: Staden Package v. February 1, 2011 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##

Broad bean wilt virus 1 (BBWV‐1) is transmitted by several aphid species in a non‐persistent manner. Transmission efficiency by vectors is a key factor for understanding virus epidemiology and applying disease control measures based on limiting virus spread. We evaluated the transmission rates of two genetically divergent BBWV‐1 isolates (PV‐132 fr...

Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus and Tomato yellow leaf curl virus co-exist in tomato crops in Italy since 2002 and have reached an equilibrium, with plants hosting molecules of both species plus others recombinant being the most frequent case. Here we have studied recombination events in field samples, as well as in experimental co-infection...

Cucumber mosaic virus, Tomato spotted wilt virus, Tomato mosaic virus, Tomato chlorosis virus, Pepino mosaic virus, Torrado tomato virus and Tomato infectious chlorosis virus cause serious damage and significant economic losses in tomato crops worldwide. The early detection of these pathogens is essential for preventing the viruses from spreading a...

The genetic variation and evolution of cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) from aromatic, medicinal and ornamental plants in northern Italy was studied by sequence analysis of the movement protein gene and comparison with equivalent sequences of isolates from other countries. Comparison of nonsynonymous and synonymous substitutions suggested that 30% of am...

Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV) causes economic damage to the tomato industry worldwide. In Italy, the virus is endemic in Sicily, an important tomato-production region, and a new outbreak has been recorded in Sardinia after the first PepMV appearance in 2001. Italian PepMV isolates from these two geographically distant regions were molecularly charact...

Tristeza disease, caused by the Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), is the most important viral disease for almost all the citrus species. Main syndromes are quick decline, stem pitting, vein clearing and seedlings yellows but expression and intensity of symptomatology depends on the interactions of the factors involved in the pathosystem such as host-str...