Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the role of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (western corn rootworm, WCR) as a potential insect vector of the pathogenic bacterium Pantoea ananatis. The experiment included a greenhouse test to investigate if WCR was able to transfer the pathogenic bacteria from infected to healthy maize plants. Adult WCR specimens collected from maize fields near Rzeszow were used in the experiment. The plant materials were sweetcorn plants of the Waza variety. Pure cultures of previously verified P. ananatis strain M241 were the source of the inoculum. Insects caught under natural conditions were incubated in an isolator containing pathogen-negative plants. Randomly selected insects were then examined for the presence of bacterial pathogens of maize in their digestive tract. Pathogen-negative insects were used in the next stage of the experiment still carried out in isolators, in which the insects foraged on maize seedlings previously infected with P. ananatis. The control group consisted of healthy, uninfected insects and plants. After the incubation period, the presence of bacterial pathogens in the gastrointestinal tract of the WCR specimens was confirmed. Subsequent insects that acquired P. ananatis were bred on pathogen-negative maize plants. After incubation, the presence of pathogenic bacteria in the body of the examined WCR beetles was confirmed, and the presence of symptoms of the bacterial disease was noted on maize plants, fulfilling Koch`s postulates and indicating that the WCR is a vector of P. ananatis on maize plants. This is the first report on the vectorization of P. ananatis by D. virgifera globally.

中文翻译：

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Pantoea ananatis 是玉米 (Zea mays) 叶斑病的病原体，由西部玉米根虫 (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte) 传播

摘要 本研究的目的是确定 Diabrotica virgifera virgifera（西方玉米根虫，WCR）作为致病细菌 Pantoea ananatis 的潜在昆虫载体的作用。该实验包括一项温室试验，以研究 WCR 是否能够将病原菌从受感染的玉米植株转移到健康的玉米植株上。实验中使用了从 Rzeszow 附近玉米田收集的成年 WCR 标本。植物材料是Waza品种的甜玉米植物。先前经验证的凤梨菌株 M241 的纯培养物是接种物的来源。在自然条件下捕获的昆虫在含有病原体阴性植物的隔离器中孵育。然后检查随机选择的昆虫消化道中是否存在玉米细菌病原体。病原体阴性昆虫被用于仍在隔离器中进行的实验的下一阶段，其中昆虫在先前感染了P. ananatis 的玉米幼苗上觅食。对照组由健康、未感染的昆虫和植物组成。潜伏期过后，确认 WCR 样本的胃肠道中存在细菌病原体。随后获得 P. ananatis 的昆虫在病原体阴性的玉米植株上繁殖。孵化后，证实了被检查的 WCR 甲虫体内存在致病菌，并且在玉米植株上发现了细菌疾病的症状，这符合 Koch 的假设，表明 WCR 是 P. ananatis 在玉米植物上。这是全球第一份关于 D. virgifera 对 P. ananatis 进行载体化的报告。