First report of Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia (16SrII group) associated with Conocarpus erectus disease in Iran

Abstract

During 2015–16, the symptoms of little leaf, leaf roll and stem fasciation were observed on Conocarpus erectus trees in Ahvaz, southwestern Iran. Nested polymerase chain reaction with phytoplasma 16S rDNA-specific primers detected the pathogen in the symptomatic plants. Both, the BLASTn search and phylogenetic analysis of the partial 16S rDNA sequence showed that Conocarpus erectus little leaf phytoplasma is a member of the 16Sr II group ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’.