A novel subgroup 16SrVII-D phytoplasma identified in association with Erigeron witches' broom.
Erigeron sp. plants showing symptoms of witches' broom and stunting were found near orchards of passion fruit in São Paulo state, Brazil. These symptoms were indicative of infection by phytoplasmas. Thus, the aim of this study was to detect and identify possible phytoplasmas associated with diseased plants. Total DNA was extracted from symptomatic and asymptomatic plants and used in nested PCR conducted with the primer pairs P1/Tint and R16F2n/16R2. Amplification of genomic fragments of 1.2 kb from the 16S rRNA gene confirmed the presence of phytoplasma in all symptomatic samples. The sequence identity scores between the 16S rRNA gene of the phytoplasma strain identified in the current study and those of previously reported 'Candidatus Phytoplasma fraxini'-related strains ranged from 98% to 99% indicating the phytoplasma to be a strain affiliated with 'Candidatus Phytoplasma fraxini'. The results from a phylogenetic analysis and virtual RFLP analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence with 17 restriction enzymes revealed that the phytoplasma strain belongs to the ash yellows phytoplasma group (16SrVII); the similarity coefficient of RFLP patterns further suggested that the phytoplasma represents a novel subgroup, designated 16SrVII-D. The representative of this new subgroup was named EboWB phytoplasma (Erigeron bonariensis Witches' Broom).
Departamento de Fitopatologia - ESALQ - Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 09, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
Daniela
D
Flôres
Departamento de Fitopatologia - ESALQ - Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 09, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
Ana Paula de Oliveira
APO
Amaral Mello
Departamento de Fitopatologia - ESALQ - Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 09, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
Thays Benites Camargo
TBC
Pereira
Departamento de Fitopatologia - ESALQ - Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 09, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
Jorge Alberto Marques
JAM
Rezende
Departamento de Fitopatologia - ESALQ - Universidade de São Paulo, Caixa Postal 09, 13418-900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil.
Ivan Paulo
IP
Bedendo
D001938:Brazil; D029865:Cytisus; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D049919:Erigeron / Q000382:microbiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D045582:Phytoplasma / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S