Diversity of Phytoplasmas Associated with Several Plants in Western Java-Indonesia

Abstract

Diseases caused by phytoplasmas have been reported in field crops, ornamentals, and weeds in Indonesia. However, most of phytoplasmas have not been subjected to further identification and thus, they remain unaffiliated with proper classification scheme. More reliable identification of phytoplasmas mostly rely on molecular methods. The aim of this study was to characterize the phytoplasma as the causal agent of naturally infected plants in western Java-Indonesia based on their 16S rRNA nucleotide sequences. Plant exhibiting phytoplasmal symptoms were observed and taken for further molecular examination. Eight plant species from three families in Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi, i.e. peanut, soybean, snakebean, Opuntia sp., betung bamboo, apus bamboo, Bermuda grass, and digitaria grass (Digitaria fuscescens) have been observed and taken as samples for further molecular examination. Nested-PCR with primer pairs P1/P7 followed by R16F2n/R16R2 resulted in amplification of products of approximately 1.2 kb from all symptomatic plant samples tested. BLAST analysis of the nucleotide sequences, phylogenetic analyses, and similarity coefficients derived from RFLP in silico revealed that there were association of a phytoplasma of 16SrII-A subgroup with phytoplasmas identified in peanut, soybean, and snakebean. Such an association showed witches’ broom symptoms; 16SrII-C with Opuntia sp. causing proliferation and mosaics; and phytoplasmas displaying yellowing and little leaf of two kinds of bamboos and white leaf of Bermuda grass and digitaria grass that were closely related to 16SrXIV-A subgroup. To our knowledge, this is the first report molecular identification of 16SrXIV-A associated with apus bamboo and digitaria grass in Indonesia.