6533b85bfe1ef96bd12bb455
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Plant teratologies as a result of phytoplasma infections
M. TessitoriCristina MarzachìRosa Elena SpallinoS. RizzaCinzia OliveriVittoria Catarasubject
0106 biological sciences0301 basic medicineEuphorbiabiologyEuphorbia characias16S rRNA characterizationPlant ScienceRhodococcus fasciansbiology.organism_classification16S ribosomal RNA01 natural sciences03 medical and health sciences030104 developmental biologyRhodococcus fasciansEuphorbia dendroidesgrowth abnormalitiesPhytoplasmaEuphorbia myrsinitesBotanyPlant teratologyphytoplasma infectionsNested polymerase chain reactionEcology Evolution Behavior and Systematics010606 plant biology & botanydescription
The direct correlation between teratological cases and phytoplasma infections was ascertained in spontaneous and cultivated plant species. Plants, belonging to 31 species and 12 families, showing symptoms of growth abnormalities were collected and analysed. Attempted detection of Rhodococcus fascians by isolation, PCR indexing and 16S rRNA sequencing from fasciated tissues allowed to exclude its presence. Nested PCR by universal primers and 16S rRNA sequence analyses indicated the presence of phytoplasmas, belonging to six groups, in the 44% of symptomatic samples. Among the infected species, Austrocylindropuntia exaltata, Opuntia subulata, Euphorbia characias, Euphorbia dendroides, Euphorbia linifolia, Euphorbia myrsinites, Rumex buchephalophorus, Linaria multicaulis and Fedia cornucopiae represent new phytoplasma hosts world-wide. Moreover this is the first report of phytoplasma belonging to subgroup 16SrRNA II-I in Italy. These findings together with the known erratic distribution in plant tissues of these phloem-restricted prokaryotes indicate a close correlation between fasciation and similar growth disorders and phytoplasma infections.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-06-08 | Plant Biosystems - An International Journal Dealing with all Aspects of Plant Biology |