Understanding the Physiology of Liberibacter asiaticus: An Overview of the Demonstrated Molecular Mechanisms

Citrus greening disease, or huanglongbing, may entirely eradicate all varieties of citrus cultivars worldwide in the near future. This disease is caused by non-cultivable bacteria of the genus Liberibacter; among them, the more pathogenic being Liberibacter asiaticus. The complexity of the host-pathogen relationship, associated with the impossibility of performing research using axenic cultures, has severely hindered the basic research on microbiology. Since its genome sequence was published in 2009, most of the scientific publications in the field were dedicated to in silico analysis and selection of targets to design early detection methods. The knowledge gained with these approaches felt short to articulate effective methods to control the disease progression. There is a critical need to understand the basic biology of bacteria to design effective strategies to inactivate central mechanisms of pathogenesis. In this review, we summarize the scientific progress made by studying L. asiaticus' biology through direct experimentation. The evidence collected thus far is not enough to understand L. -asiaticus' fundamental biology. It is imperiously necessary to increase the basic research to identify relevant biological clues to control citrus greening. The gained knowledge may also help to prevent potential catastrophic diseases in other crops of significant importance caused by other unculturable Liberibacter species.