U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory: Beltsville, MD
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    Databases
                        Alfalfa Transcription Factor Database
                                    iPhyClassifier - Phytoplasma Sequence ClassificationSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Northeast Area Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) Beltsville Agricultural Research Center Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory People John Hartung





- Find a person
- Find a location
- ARS Organizational Chart
- People
- Con Baker
- Wei Wei
- Rosemarie Hammond
- Robert Davis
- John Hartung
- Ing Ming Lee
- Lev Nemchinov
- Anna Smigocki
- Yan Zhao

**MPPL Home****MPPL Home****Citrus Home****Canker****CVC****CTV****CYMV****Greening****Leprosis** **Greening Genes****Dodder****Greening & Seeds****Greening in plants****Citrus Facts****Collection** citrus pathogen logo Exotic Citrus Pathogen Collection (Yes, there are orange trees in Maryland!) History of the Facility   The Exotic Pathogens of Citrus Collection (EPCC) was created in 1984 and is funded by the USDA ARS. This unique facility is composed of a 3200 sq ft greenhouse opened in November of 2006 and a laboratory dedicated to the study of exotic diseases of citrus. Exotic diseases are those which either do not occur, or occur with only limited distribution in the United States. For bio-security reasons the EPCC is located in Beltsville, MD, approximately 1500Km (930mi) away from commercial citrus growing regions. Cooperating scientists from Florida, Texas and California, as well as other countries around the world can conduct evaluations with plants which are maintained under similar conditions. In some cases environmental conditions in an area can affect symptom expression; this facility allows us to create a " base-line " for symptom expression. We also provide prepared tissue samples to other cooperating labs around the United States and world to use as positive control standards for comparison in research. Research at the Facility The EPCC includes several hundred strains of Xanthomonas axonopodispv. citri (citrus canker) in frozen storage. These include the known diversity in this complex of species. We maintain all three Candidatus species of Liberibacter (huanglongbing or citrus greening disease) in the collection as well as Xylella fastidiosa(citrus variegated chlorosis). The EPCC includes an extensive collection of citrus viruses which are maintained in plants. These include accessions of Citrus tristeza virusfrom 40 countries. There is exceptional variation in both the genotypes of CTV and in the symptoms induced in infected plants. Our collection includes strains representing multiple symptom patterns and genotypes. We also have Citrus yellow mosaic badnavirus obtained from India in the collection and citrus chlorotic dwarf, a virus from Turkey that produces spectacular symptoms. Rapid and sensitive DNA- or RNA-based diagnostic methods to assist in plant quarantine and phytosanitary applications have been developed for many of these pathogens over the years. These include Citrus Tristeza virus, Citrus yellow mosaic virus, strains of Xylella fastidiosa that cause citrus variegated chlorosis, bacteria called Xanthomonas citrithat cause citrus canker, and the pathogen that causes huanglongbing or citrus greening disease. Citrus Facts orange line For more information about citrus pathogens please contact Dr. John Hartung For more information concerning growing citrus please contact Cristina Paul Juicy Links logo Florida Juice Commision*University of Florida*Sunkist kid's stuff*The Ultimate Citrus Page*California Citrus Research Board*Citrus from Down Under- Citrus Australia *Texas Citrus** Goes to non-federal site


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov