Detection and management of Rubus stunt, a phytoplasma disease in Rubus species

摘要

Phytoplasmas are small, cell wall-less bacteria that inhabit the phloem of plants as obligatory parasites and are transferred by phloem-feeding insects or by vegetative propagation of infected plants. In Rubus species they cause a disease called Rubus stunt. Symptoms range from stunted growth, flower proliferation, enlarged sepals, small leaves, and short internodes to fruit malformation. However, little is known about the presence and distribution of phytoplasmas in Rubus plants of different geographicorigins and cultivars or about the spectrum of putative insect vectors. A newly developed multiplex TaqMan Real-Time PCR assay for screening plants and insects in order to identify putative insect vectors, phytoplasma transmission routes, and tolerant cultivars will be presented.