Abstract
In this study, potential alternate hosts of the phytoplasma causing coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD) in Mozambique were investigated based on 16S rRNA and secA genes. The results reveal that the naturalized palm species, Elaeis guineensis and Borassus aethiopum are alternate hosts of CLYD phytoplasma in Mozambique. Based on the iPhyClassifier online software, the phytoplasma detected in B. aethiopum belongs to the 16Sr group XXII-A, which include ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola’ and ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma cocosnigeriae’. This is the first report associating ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola’ with wild naturalized palm species in the world. Key words: Alternate hosts, Borassus aethiopum, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma palmicola’, Elaeis guineensis, Mozambique, palm lethal phytoplasma phylogeny.
Highlights
The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is a major cash crop widely grown in Mozambique, contributing to the livelihood, income and food security of millions of the inhabitants (Bila et al, 2014)
The results reveal that the naturalized palm species, Elaeis guineensis and Borassus aethiopum are alternate hosts of coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD) phytoplasma in Mozambique
A higher ratio of PCR positive samples with both 16S rRNA and secA genes primers was achieved on B. aethiopum and E. guineensis palm tree samples collected using stem boring method (Table 2 and Table S1)
Summary
The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) is a major cash crop widely grown in Mozambique, contributing to the livelihood, income and food security of millions of the inhabitants (Bila et al, 2014). Outbreaks of coconut lethal yellowing disease (CLYD) is threatening the coconut industry and the livelihood of over three million people in Mozambique. The current disease outbreak has already killed about eight million coconut trees and destroyed coconut associated businesses. The most sustainable CLYD management strategy is removal and burning of symptomatic coconut trees. Removed palms are replaced by hitherto resistant varieties. Identifying resistance to the palm phytoplasma in Africa has proven challenging. The varieties that were shown to be resistant to lethal yellowing (LY) in the Caribbean region did not show the same degree of resistance in Africa (Eziashi and Omamor, 2010). The Mozambique giant green tall variety is still considered to be tolerant, since when compared to other varieties, it survives relatively longer to infection with CLYD, and this variety is widely used to replace dead coconut palms in Mozambique.
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