First record of a phytoplasma-associated disease of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) in Australia.

摘要

Chickpeas growing in the agricultural region of Kununurra, Western Australia, were found with symptoms of leaf stunting, little leaf and proliferating branches. Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from symptomatic and asymptomatic plants and tested for phytoplasma by PCR. The PCR product from symptomatic leaves was sequenced and confirmed the presence of a phytoplasma with high similarity to the 16SrII group 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia'. This is the first molecular evidence for a phytoplasma-associated disease in chickpea..