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Control of rubus stunt and stolbur diseases in Madagascar periwinkle with mycorrhizae and a synthetic antibacterial peptide
Author(s) -
Rufo R.,
Batlle A.,
Camprubi A.,
Montesinos E.,
Calvet C.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plant pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.928
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1365-3059
pISSN - 0032-0862
DOI - 10.1111/ppa.12612
Subject(s) - biology , phytoplasma , antimicrobial , inoculation , rubus , horticulture , microbiology and biotechnology , botany , polymerase chain reaction , restriction fragment length polymorphism , biochemistry , gene
Three experimental treatments consisting of inoculation with an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, application of a synthetic antimicrobial peptide or application of a resistance inducer, were evaluated in Madagascar periwinkle as control methods for rubus stunt and stolbur diseases caused by ‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma rubi’ and ‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’, respectively. Two experiments were conducted under controlled environment conditions. In the first experiment, 4 months after graft‐inoculating the phytoplasmas, the root colonization achieved by Rhizophagus irregularis significantly reduced both disease symptoms and the frequency of detection of the pathogens by real‐time PCR . In the second experiment, the antimicrobial peptide BP 100 totally prevented disease symptoms, despite the molecular detection of the phytoplasmas in 75% and 50% of the plants inoculated with ‘ Ca . Phytoplasma rubi’ and ‘ Ca . Phytoplasma solani’, respectively, and was more effective than benzothiadiazole ( BTH ) at increasing resistance against the pathogenic infections. A potential combination of early mycorrhizal inoculation and BP 100 antimicrobial peptide application is envisaged as a future control strategy for phytoplasma diseases.