Open AccessIn Planta Dynamic Analysis of Onion Yellows Phytoplasma Using Localized Inoculation by Insect Transmission
Author(s) -
Wei Wei,
Shigeyuki Kakizawa,
Shiho Suzuki,
Hee–Young Jung,
Hisashi Nishigawa,
Sumiko Miyata,
Kenro Oshima,
Masashi Ugaki,
Tadaaki Hibi,
Susumu Namba
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
phytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.264
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1943-7684
pISSN - 0031-949X
DOI - 10.1094/phyto.2004.94.3.244
Subject(s) - phytoplasma , biology , leafhopper , phloem , inoculation , botany , host (biology) , nested polymerase chain reaction , horticulture , polymerase chain reaction , hemiptera , ecology , biochemistry , gene , restriction fragment length polymorphism
Due to the lack of a means to inoculate plants mechanically, the histological dynamics and in planta spread of phytoplasmas have been studied very little. We analyzed the dynamics of plant infection by phytoplasmas, using a technique to infect a limited area of a leaf, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), real-time PCR, and immunohistochemical visualization. Following localized inoculation of a leaf of garland chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum coronarium) by the vector leafhopper Macrosteles striifrons, the onion yellows (OY) phytoplasma spread within the plant from the inoculated leaf to the main stem (1 day postinoculation [dpi]), to the roots and the top leaf (2 dpi), and to other leaves from top to bottom (from 7 to 21 dpi). The populations of the OY phytoplasmas in inoculated leaves and roots increased approximately sixfold each week from 14 to 28 dpi. At 14 dpi, the OY phytoplasmas colonized limited regions of the phloem tissue in both the root and stem and then spread throughout the phloem by 21 dpi. This information should form the basis for elucidating the mechanisms of phytoplasma multiplication and migration within a plant host.