Xylella fastidiosa
Xylella fastidiosa is a vector Een drager van een ziekteverwekker van een besmette persoon naar een niet-besmet individu of zijn voedsel of milieu; bijvoorbeeld muggen met malariaparasieten.-transmitted bacterial plant pathogen associated with serious diseases in a wide range of plants. It causes Pierce’s disease in grapevine, which is a major problem for wine producers in the United States and South America. X. fastidiosa was detected on olive trees in Puglia, southern Italy, in October 2013, the first time the bacterium has been reported in the European Union. Since then it has also been reported as present in France, Spain and Portugal. Controls are in place to prevent the bacterium from spreading.
Numerous species of xylem sap-sucking insects are known to be vectors of the bacterium. X. fastidiosa also has a broad range of host plants, including many common cultivated and wild plants.
Latest
In August 2023, EFSA co-organised the 4th European Conference on Xylella, bringing together hundreds of plant health specialists from around the world in Lyon, France. The experts discussed the state of the art in research to control this bacterium that continues to threaten Europe’s economy and environment.
Milestones
2021
April
EFSA organised the third European conference on Xylella fastidiosa. The event – held online because of COVID-19 restrictions – was attended by scientists, academics and interested stakeholders from more than 60 countries. The conference was preceded by the final meeting of the EU-funded XF-Actors research project.
2020
June
EFSA published guidelines for carrying out surveys of Xylella fastidiosa. The document guides plant pest surveyors through the design of statistically sound, risk-based surveys of the pathogen, integrating the key information gathered in the pest survey card for X. fastidiosa published in 2019.
April
EFSA published the latest update of its database of plants that act as hosts of Xylella fastidiosa. Thirty-seven additional species were identified as hosts of the pathogen, taking the total number of species in the database to 595.
2019
October
EFSA co-organised the second scientific conference on Xylella fastidiosa. Around 350 plant health specialists from around the world gathered in Ajaccio, Corsica, for two days of intensive discussions on how science can help find solutions to the plant pest that is causing environmental and economic damage across Europe.
June
EFSA published a pest survey card on X. fastidiosa. The card is designed to help Member States plan their survey activities using a statistically sound and risk-based approach, in line with international guidelines on surveillance.
May
EFSA updated its risk assessment of the risks posed by X. fastidiosa to plants and crops in the European Union. EFSA’s Plant Health Panel used computer modelling to simulate how X. fastidiosa spreads across short and long distances under different conditions.
2018
September
EFSA published the latest update of its database of plants that act as hosts for Xylella fastidiosa. The updated list includes 563 plant species identified through a new literature search and from notifications to the EU’s plant health interception service EUROPHYT. The list can be accessed as raw data on Knowledge Junction, EFSA’s open repository of evidence and supporting materials used in food safety risk assessments, or as a series of interactive reports.
July
EFSA updated its pest categorisation of X. fastidiosa, previously included as part of the pest risk assessment published in 2015. EFSA’s Panel on Plant Health concluded that X. fastidiosa meets the criteria for consideration as an EU quarantine pest.
2017
November
EFSA co-hosted a conference on the latest scientific developments surrounding X. fastidiosa. More than 250 plant health experts from around the world attended the event in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The programme included around 50 presentations looking at issues such as current knowledge of the pathogen, how it is transmitted, resistance in plants and control measures.
April
EFSA produced a report on the susceptibility of olive varieties to the Apulian strain of Xylella fastidiosa (subsp. pauca strain CoDiRO, ST53). The report noted that evidence from experimental infectivity studies and from surveys in olive orchards indicate tolerance of the Leccino variety to ST53. Tolerance or resistance traits have also been found in other olive varieties, such as FS-17®.
2016
August
EFSA’s experts concluded in August that there was no scientific evidence to indicate the presence of multiple types of X. fastidiosa in Apulia. They then reviewed new evidence regarding the categorisation of Vitis (grapevine), Citrus, Quercus ilex (holm oak) and Phoenix roebelenii (ornamental dwarf palm) as host plants of X. fastidiosa.
April
EFSA concluded that research being carried out in Apulia showed that certain treatments reduce the symptoms of disease caused by X. fastidiosa but do not eliminate the pathogen from infected plants.
March
EFSA published a report by the Italian National Research Council on the host range of X. fastidiosa CoDiRO, which confirmed that CoDiRO causes olive dieback.
February
EFSA’s database of host plants was updated to include 44 new species. The majority of the new species (70%) were identified in southern Italy (Apulia), Corsica and southern France (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region).
2015
November
More than 100 scientists from around the world attended a workshop hosted by EFSA to identify the main knowledge gaps and discuss research priorities for X. fastidiosa. In the same month, EFSA evaluated the results of ongoing studies and experiments carried out in Apulia, concluding that grapevine cannot be ruled out as a potential host of X. fastidiosa.
September
A Scientific Opinion published by EFSA indicated that hot water treatment – whereby dormant plants and plant parts are submerged for 45 minutes in water heated to 50C – is a reliable method for controlling X. fastidiosa in dormant grapevine planting material.
April
EFSA responded to a claim by an Italian non-governmental organisation that a series of fungi – rather than X. fastidiosa – are the main causal agents of olive decline in Apulia. EFSA concluded that there was no scientific evidence that tracheomycotic fungi are the primary cause of olive die-back in Apulia.
January
EFSA published a full pest risk assessment and evaluation of risk reduction options for X. fastidiosa in the EU. The scientific opinion included a list of host plants and European vectors of the bacterium. In March 2015, EFSA published a report categorising plants for planting, excluding seeds, according to the risk of introduction of X. fastidiosa.
2014
February
Following publication of EFSA’s advice, in February 2014 the European Commission put in place emergency measures to combat the spread and further introduction of the organism into the EU. These measures were further strengthened in May and October 2015.
2013
October
Xylella fastidiosa was detected in olive trees in Lecce province in Apulia, Italy. It was the first outbreak of X. fastidiosa under field conditions to be reported in the European Union. In November of the same year EFSA provided the European Commission with urgent scientific advice and technical assistance on X. fastidiosa.
FAQ
Xylella fastidiosa is a bacterial plant pathogen transmitted by insects that feed on xylem sap. It is associated with serious diseases in a wide range of plants around the world. For example, it causes Pierce’s disease in grapevine, citrus variegated chlorosis, phony peach disease, coffee leaf scorch, olive quick decline syndrome and other diseases that affect common trees such as plum, almond, oak and oleander.
Diseases caused by X. fastidiosa occur in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate areas. The bacterium is widespread in many areas of North, Central and South America and reached Europe in recent years. Official surveys carried out by EU Member States confirm so far that its presence is limited to Italy (southern Apulia), France (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Corsica), Spain (Balearic Islands), and an isolated case in a greenhouse in Germany (Saxony).
X. fastidiosa colonises the xylem network within plants. The main function of xylem vessels is to transport water from a plant’s roots to its leaves, so when the bacteria colonise the plant, the xylem vessels become blocked and the plant slowly dies. To reach a new host, X. fastidiosa has to be carried and transmitted by a vector – all xylem sap-feeding insects are potential vectors, until proven otherwise. The most common vectors worldwide are sharpshooter leafhopper (Cicadellinae), spittlebugs (Aphrophoridae) and froghoppers (Cercopidae). The meadow froghopper (Philaenus spumarius) is currently the only species confirmed to be a vector of the bacterium in Apulia.
Symptoms range from leaf browning to plant death. The specific symptoms, sequence and pace of infection vary because of the wide range of potential host plants, the diversity of the pathogen and level of infection, as well as the different climatic conditions in areas where the bacterium is found. Many host plants infected with X. fastidiosa may not express any symptoms; other plants may show severe leaf scorching and wilting up to complete desiccation.
EFSA maintains a database of known hosts, which currently lists 563 plant species – both naturally and experimentally infected hosts – from 82 botanical families. However, not all of the plants listed are susceptible to all “types” (subspecies or strains) of X. fastidiosa and, even when affected, plants will not necessarily become symptomatic. In addition, even plants belonging to the same species can express different levels of susceptibility depending on their variety and growing conditions. The identification of asymptomatic host species is crucial as they can act as symptomless carriers for this bacterium to new zones and more sensitive crops.
Yes. There are five currently recognised sub-species of X. fastidiosa – fastidiosa, morus, multiplex, pauca and sandyi – which in turn have their own variants.
In Europe, the subspecies fastidiosa, associated with Pierce’s disease of grapevine and almond leaf scorch in the Americas, has been detected in the Balearic Islands in Spain, in isolated plants in a greenhouse in Germany (Saxony), and has been intercepted on some consignments of imported coffee plants. The subspecies multiplex has been reported in France (Corsica and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) and the Balearic Islands. The subspecies pauca, very common in South America, has been detected in Italy (Apulia), in the Balearic Islands, and in one isolated outbreak in France (Menton, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur).
In addition, another species of Xylella, Xylella taiwanensis, occurs in Taiwan, where it causes pear leaf scorch. X. fastidiosa subspecies fastidiosa is also present in Taiwan.
Xylella fastidiosa is regulated in the EU as a quarantine organism and its introduction into and movement within the Union territory is prohibited. In addition, emergency measures have been in place in the EU since February 2014 to prevent its introduction and further spread within the EU. Stricter rules were introduced in May 2015 on the basis of a full EFSA pest risk assessment, and have been updated regularly as soon as new scientific and technical information has become available.
EFSA has published numerous reports and scientific opinions on X. fastidiosa since the beginning of the outbreak in southern Italy in 2013. In January 2015 EFSA published a full pest risk assessment and evaluation of risk reduction options for X. fastidiosa in the EU. The scientific opinion included a list of host plants and European vectors of the bacterium. Another significant output was the publication in March 2016 of a report by the Italian National Research Council on the host range of X. fastidiosa CoDiRO. This report was the result of an EFSA-funded pilot project aimed at assessing the host range of the Apulian strain of X. fastidiosa. The most crucial finding was confirmation that X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca (strain CoDiRO[1]) is the causal agent of the olive dieback observed in Apulia. For full details of EFSA’s work in this area please see the “Completed work” section on this page.
[1] Complesso del Disseccamento Rapido dell’Olivo (Italian translation of olive quick decline syndrome)