Abstract
Chinese scholar tree (Sophora japonica) with witches’ broom symptoms was observed in Shandong Province in China. Phytoplasmas were detected in the diseased plants using 16S rDNA amplification with phytoplasma-specific universal primer pairs. On the basis of the results of 16S rDNA sequencing, virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns and phylogenetic analyses, the phytoplasma found in S. japonica with witches’ broom symptoms was confirmed as a ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi’-related strain belonging to the Elm yellows group 16SrV. This is the first report of ‘Ca. P. ziziphi’ infecting S. japonica plant with witches’ broom symptoms.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported in part by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (30972367 and 30671685) and the Foundation to Distinguished Young Scientists in Shandong Province (BS 200606017).
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Yu, ZC., Cao, Y., Zhang, Q. et al. ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ziziphi’ associated with Sophora japonica witches’ broom disease in China. J Gen Plant Pathol 78, 298–300 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-012-0385-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10327-012-0385-7