Background: Upon exposure to unfavorable environmental conditions, plants need to respond quickly to maintain their homeostasis. For instance, physiological, biochemical and transcriptional changes occur during plant-pathogen interaction. In the case ofVanilla planifoliaJacks., a worldwide economically important crop, it is susceptible toFusarium oxysporumf. sp.vanillae(Fov). This pathogen causes root and stem rot (RSR) in vanilla plants that lead to plant death. To investigate how vanilla plants, respond at the transcriptional level upon infection withFov, here we employed the RNA-Seq approach to analyze the dynamics of whole-transcriptome changes during two-time frames of the infection.Results: Analysis of global gene expression profiles upon infection byFovindicated that the major transcriptional change occurred at 2 days post-inoculation (dpi), in comparison to 10 dpi. Briefly, the RNA-Seq analysis carried out in roots found that 3420 and 839 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were detected at 2 and 10 dpi, respectively, as compared to the control. In the case of DEGs at 2 dpi, 1563 genes were found to be up-regulated, whereas 1857 genes were down-regulated. Moreover, functional categorization of DEGs at 2 dpi indicated that up-regulated genes are mainly associated to translation, whereas down-regulated genes are involved in cell wall remodeling. Among the translational-related transcripts, ribosomal proteins (RPs) were found increased their expression exclusively at 2 dpi.Conclusions: The screening of transcriptional changes ofV. planifoliaJacks upon infection byFov provides insights into the plant molecular response, particularly at early stages of infection. The accumulation of translational-related transcripts at early stages of infection potentially points to a transcriptional reprogramming coupled with a translational regulation in vanilla plants upon infection byFov. Altogether, the results presented here highlight potential molecular players that might be further studied to improveFov-induced resistance in vanilla plants.

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vanillae is considered the most important fungus affecting vanilla crops around the world, causing rot on vanilla roots and stems. Previous studies showed that the ability to infect vanilla plants is a polyphyletic trait among strains of the Fusarium oxysporum species complex ( FOSC ). The same studies proposed a single origin for F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae isolates sampled from Mexico, the centre of origin and distribution of vanilla. The aim of this work was to test the hypothesis of the monophyletic origin of a wider sample of isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae infecting Mexican vanilla and estimate nucleotide diversity of pathogen isolates from the main vanilla‐producing countries. Sequence data for the TEF 1 α gene from 106 isolates was assembled. The phylogenetic analyses suggest that some Mexican isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. vanillae belong in two well‐supported clades, mixed with isolates from Madagascar, Indonesia, Réunion and Comoros. The phylogenetic position of other Indonesian and Mexican isolates is unresolved. Estimations of nucleotide diversity showed that the population from Mexico is genetically more diverse than the other three populations from Madagascar, Indonesia and Réunion. The results support a polyphyletic origin of vanilla‐infecting isolates of F. oxysporum worldwide, and also reject the proposition that Mexican isolates have a single origin. The phylogenetic optimizations over the strict consensus tree of the ability to infect vanilla plants suggest that pathogenic strains around the world are the product of multiple shifts of pathogenesis and dispersion events.

Maize bushy stunt is the most serious disease affecting corn in the Americas (Alvarez et al. 2014; Pérez-López et al. 2016). Maize bushy stunt has been associated in previous studies with phytoplasma strains related to ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’, which belongs to the 16SrI-B subgroup. Phytoplasmas are vectored by phloem-feeding insects, primarily leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) and members of the genus Dalbulus have been identified as the vector of maize bushy stunt phytoplasma in maize. Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott), D. elimatus (Ball), D. guevari (DeLong), D. quinquenotatus (DeLong & Nault), D. gelbus (DeLong) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), and D. tripsacoides (DeLong and Nault) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) transmit maize bushy stunt phytoplasma, with the corn leafhopper, D. maidis Delong, and the Mexican corn leafhopper, D. elimatus Ball, being the most efficient vectors (Madden & Nault 1983; Moya-Raygoza & Nault 1998; Weintraub & Beanland 2006). Dalbulus maidis can be found at low altitudes while D. elimatus is distributed at altitudes higher than 1,000 meters above sea level (masl) (Pinedo-Escatel & Moya-Raygoza 2015).

Background and Aims: Visitation and fragrance collection in fruits of the genus Vanilla by Euglossine bees (Eulaema spp.) have previously been documented. However, in Vanilla planifolia, the most commonly cultivated species, this behavior has not yet been recorded. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify Euglossine visitors of the mature fruits of V. planifolia and to identify the frequency of these visitations. Methods: We held 11 observations set within a month (from March 6 to April 6, 2021) in an experimental Vanilla planifolia plantation with mature fruits of vanilla in Veracruz, Mexico. Each observation lasted for ten hours (from 8:00 to 18:00), representing a total of 110 hours sampling effort. During our observations we collected individuals of Euglossine bees directly from the mature fruits of vanilla to identify them at species level. We also recorded the frequency of Euglossini visits to mature fruits of V. planifolia. Key results: We identified five species belonging to three Euglossini genera visiting mature fruits of V. planifolia: Euglossa hemichlora, E. variabilis, Eulaema cingulata, E. polychroma, and Exaerete frontalis. The genus Eulaema had 72% of visits to V. planifolia fruits. Visitation frequency was dominated by Eulaema polychroma with 54% of total recorded visits (n=211). Conclusions: For the first time, Euglossine bees have been registered collecting scents in mature fruits of V. planifolia. Eulaema polychroma was the species with the highest percentage of visits to mature fruits V. planifolia to collect fragrances.