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Occurrence of single and mixed infection of Spiroplasma citri and phytoplasmas in sesame plants in Iran

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Abstract

Molecular analyses with specific PCR primers and dodder transmission to periwinkle plants, allowed the detection of Spiroplasma citri strains, phytoplasmas and mixed infection of these bacteria during a survey performed on sesame fields of the Iranian Fars and Bushehr provinces. S. citri was identified alone or in mixed infection with phytoplasma strains in four areas and it was detected for the first time in Dashtestan and in two new areas, Khonj and Bakhtegan, in the Fars province. S. citri strains from Khonj and Zarghan were classified as group 1 and those of Bakhtegan and Dashtestan as groups 6 and 2, respectively. This is the first report of group 2 S. citri strain in Iran. In Bakhtegan, Dashtestan, Khonj and Zarghan, respectively, phytoplasma strains enclosed in subgroups 16SrVI-A, 16SrII-C, 16SrII-D, and 16SrIX-C were identified. In Bakhtegan, Dashtestan and Khonj, phytoplasmas associated with sesame phyllody are reported for the first time. The association of a 16SrII-C-related subgroup phytoplasma with sesame phyllody is reported for the first time in Iran. This work indicates that sesame fields could be sources of different phytoplasmas and S. citri strains from where they can be transmitted to other species, especially citrus cultivated in sesame growing areas. In mixed infected, experimentally inoculated periwinkle and sesame plants, some of the typical symptoms of infection with S. citri were not observed suggesting the presence of an antagonistic interaction between S. citri and phytoplasmas.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the help of A Khanchezar at the agricultural college of Shiraz University for isolation and culturing Spiroplasma citri strains.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Plant Protection Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Zarghan, Iran

    Mohammad Salehi, Mohammad Mehdi Faghihi & Elham Salehi

  2. Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Assunta Bertaccini

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  1. Mohammad Salehi
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  2. Mohammad Mehdi Faghihi
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  3. Elham Salehi
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  4. Assunta Bertaccini
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Correspondence to Mohammad Salehi.

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Salehi, M., Faghihi, M.M., Salehi, E. et al. Occurrence of single and mixed infection of Spiroplasma citri and phytoplasmas in sesame plants in Iran. Australasian Plant Pathol. 51, 13–26 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-021-00826-9

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