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Diversity and characterization of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus strains causing huanglongbing disease in Iran, based on two prophage loci
Author(s) -
Saberi Esmeil,
Alavi Seyed Mehdi,
Safaie Nasr
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of phytopathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.53
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1439-0434
pISSN - 0931-1785
DOI - 10.1111/jph.12724
Subject(s) - prophage , biology , genetics , locus (genetics) , genotype , genome , tandem repeat , bacteriophage , gene , escherichia coli
Huanglongbing ( HLB ), also known as citrus greening, is a destructive disease of citrus; it is considered a newly emerging disease which has spread to the Middle East and North Africa ( MENA ). In Iran, the disease was first found in 2009. In this study, two hypervariable prophage and phage‐related loci, bacteriophage repressor protein C1 ( CLIBASIA _ 01645 locus) and prophage terminase gene ( CLIBASIA _05610 locus), were used to determine the diversity and characterization of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus ( CL as) strains associated with HLB samples. Analyses of the CLIBASIA _01645 locus, characteristic of variable tandem repeat numbers ( VTRN s), revealed the homogeneity of Iranian CL as isolates: However, this result showed two distinct genotypes ( TRN < 10 and TRN > 10) of CL as in Iran. This is the first report documenting the presence of two differentially distributed genotypes of CL as in Iran. Sequence analysis of prophage terminase revealed the presence of two putative prophages (prophage I and prophage II ) in the genome of CL as isolates of Iran. Frequency analysis of these two prophages by specific loci revealed the association between prophages populations, the development HLB symptoms and CL as genotypes and their interactions with another obligate symbiontic, HLB phytoplasma.