| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
1 Dipartimento di Biologia, Difesa e Biotecnologie Agro-Forestali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Campus Macchia Romana, I-85100 Potenza, Italy
2 Biologische Bundesanstalt für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Institut für Pflanzenschutz im Obstbau, D-69221, Dossenheim, Germany
Correspondence
Carmine Marcone
marcone{at}unibas.it
Bermuda grass white leaf (BGWL) is a destructive, phytoplasmal disease of Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon). The causal pathogen, the BGWL agent, differs from other phytoplasmas that cluster in the same major branch of the phytoplasma phylogenetic clade in <2·5 % of 16S rDNA nucleotide positions, the threshold for assigning species rank to phytoplasmas under the provisional status ‘Candidatus’. Thus, the objective of this work was to examine homogeneity of BGWL isolates and to determine whether there are, in addition to 16S rDNA, other markers that support delineation of the BGWL agent at the putative species level. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the 16S rDNA sequences of BGWL strains were identical or nearly identical. Clear differences that support separation of the BGWL agent from related phytoplasmas were observed within the 16S–23S rDNA spacer sequence, by serological comparisons, in vector transmission and in host-range specificity. From these results, it can be concluded that the BGWL phytoplasma is a discrete taxon at the putative species level, for which the name ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma cynodontis' is proposed. Strain BGWL-C1 was selected as the reference strain. Phytoplasmas that are associated with brachiaria white leaf, carpet grass white leaf and diseases of date palms showed 16S rDNA and/or 16S–23S rDNA spacer sequences that were identical or nearly identical to those of the BGWL phytoplasmas. However, the data available do not seem to be sufficient for a proper taxonomic assignment of these phytoplasmas.
Published online ahead of print on 19 December 2003 as DOI 10.1099/ijs.0.02837-0.
The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the P1/P7 amplimer (16S rRNA gene and 16S–23S rDNA spacer region) of phytoplasma strains BGWL-C1, BGWL-C2 and BGWL-CA are AJ550984, AJ550985 and AJ550986, respectively.
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  Y. Arocha, O. Antesana, E. Montellano, P. Franco, G. Plata, and P. Jones 'Candidatus Phytoplasma lycopersici', a phytoplasma associated with 'hoja de perejil' disease in Bolivia Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, August 1, 2007; 57(8): 1704 - 1710. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
W. Wei, R. E. Davis, I.-M. Lee, and Y. Zhao Computer-simulated RFLP analysis of 16S rRNA genes: identification of ten new phytoplasma groups Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, August 1, 2007; 57(8): 1855 - 1867. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y. Arocha, M. Lopez, B. Pinol, M. Fernandez, B. Picornell, R. Almeida, I. Palenzuela, M. R. Wilson, and P. Jones 'Candidatus Phytoplasma graminis' and 'Candidatus Phytoplasma caricae', two novel phytoplasmas associated with diseases of sugarcane, weeds and papaya in Cuba Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, November 1, 2005; 55(6): 2451 - 2463. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
B. Schneider, E. Torres, M. P. Martin, M. Schroder, H.-D. Behnke, and E. Seemuller 'Candidatus Phytoplasma pini', a novel taxon from Pinus silvestris and Pinus halepensis Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, January 1, 2005; 55(1): 303 - 307. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
The IRPCM Phytoplasma/Spiroplasma Working Team - P 'Candidatus Phytoplasma', a taxon for the wall-less, non-helical prokaryotes that colonize plant phloem and insects Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, July 1, 2004; 54(4): 1243 - 1255. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| INT J SYST EVOL MICROBIOL | MICROBIOLOGY | J GEN VIROL |
| J MED MICROBIOL | ALL SGM JOURNALS | |
