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Molecular identification of a phytoplasma associated with S ophora R oot yellows
Author(s) -
Chen X. F.,
Liang Y. C.,
Chen N.,
Su W. M.,
Xiao H.,
Wang X.,
Zhu X. P.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
forest pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.535
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1439-0329
pISSN - 1437-4781
DOI - 10.1111/efp.12048
Subject(s) - phytoplasma , biology , 16s ribosomal rna , aster yellows , restriction fragment length polymorphism , phylogenetic tree , ribosomal rna , genetics , gene , sieve tube element , botany , genotype , phloem
Summary A phytoplasma infecting S ophora R oot ( S ophora alopecuroides ) was detected and identified in A lar, X injiang U ygur A utonomous R egion of C hina. Typical phytoplasma bodies were observed in sieve tubes of the diseased plants by transmission electron microscopy. A partial 16S rRNA gene and ribosomal protein (rp) genes containing rpl22 ( rplV ) and rps3 ( rpsC ) were amplified by direct and nested PCR . Based on the sequence similarity of the 16S rRNA and rp genes with accompanying phylogenetic analyses, the phytoplasma associated with S ophora R oot yellows belongs to the 16SrI group (aster yellows group). Virtual RFLP analysis of these 16S rRNA and rp gene sequences showed distinct differences from those of reference phytoplasma strains representing previously described subgroups of the 16SrI group. Moreover, the similarity coefficient (0.92) of the RFLP profile of this phytoplasma was less than the threshold similarity coefficient (0.97) required for subgroup classification. Thus, the phytoplasma isolate of S ophora R oot plants, designated as ‘SoRY’, represents a new subgroup. Furthermore, this is the first report of phytoplasma disease associated with S ophora R oot plants.