FIRST RECORD OF SUGARCANE LEAF YELLOWS PHYTOPLASMA (16SrII RIBOSOMAL GROUP) INFECTING SUGARCANE CROPS IN INDIA

摘要

Phytoplasma strain was detected in leaves of sugarcane in India exhibiting symptoms of leaf yellows and yellowing of midribs. A phytoplasma characteristic ～0.9 kb rDNA PCR products were amplified all suspected samples but not in healthy sugarcane plants tested using phytoplasma universal primer pairs P1 / P7 andfU3/rU5. DNA extracts from plants with yellow mid rib produced products of 840 bp, which gave typical phytoplasma profiles when digested with Haelll and Hha I. No PCR amplifications were produced using DNA from symptomless plants. RFLP analysis of PCR products with Haelll, and Hha I endonuclease generated fragment profiles that were identical for all the samples. The 16S rRNA sequence of the Indian SCYLP showed that the closest identity (99%) with that of SCYLP in Cuba identified in Macroptilium lathyroides (AY725233), which belong to 16SrXII (Stolbur group). This is the first record of the detection of SCYLP, and the identification of 16SrXII group of phytoplasma associated with leaf yellows and YLS in India.