Detection and molecular characterization of an aster yellows phytoplasma in rhodiola in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Rhodiola plants exhibiting symptoms typical of phytoplasma infection were observed at an experimental farm near Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, in 2007. Phytoplasma infection was confirmed with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-assay using 16S ribosomal RNA primers developed specifically for phytoplasmas; the primers could amplify a band from tissue samples derived from infected, but not from asymptomatic, plants. Comparison between the sequence of the PCR product and the 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequences of other phytoplasmas available in GenBank indicated that the phytoplasma identified in rhodiola is a member of the subgroup 16SrI-B (aster yellows subgroup B).