1Plant Protection Department, Santa Catalina Research Station, INIAP, Quito, Ecuador
2Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, USA
*Corresponding author e-mail: Carmen Castillo Carrillo (carmen.castillo@iniap.gob.ec)
Online Published on 19 April, 2023.
In early 2020, potato tubers were collected from plants within a commercial field located in Pinchincha province, Ecuador where plants showed symptoms including stunting, purple coloration of new leaves, leaf curling, swollen nodes and aerial tubers. These symptoms are related to the potato purple top (PPT) syndrome described in several American countries. PCR products were obtained from the 16S rRNA gene of phytoplasmas, cloned and sequenced. Nucleotide BLAST search showed that these sequences had identity above 99% with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma americanum’ strains. The iPhyClassifier virtual RFLP analyses indicated that the Ecuadorian phytoplasma strains are members of the 16SrXVIII group confirming the identification. The detection of ‘Ca. P. americanum’ adds an additional phytoplasma to the list of phytoplasmas detected in potatoes in Ecuador as associated with the PPT syndrome, and it is the first report of its presence in potatoes in this Country. Implementation of appropriate management strategies should be performed to control and reduce the disease spread.
Mollicutes, Plant pathogens, PCR, 16SrXVIII phytoplasmas
