1Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur-273009, Uttar Pradesh, India
2Department of Biotechnology, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur-273009, Uttar Pradesh, India
*Corresponding author e-mail: Smriti Mall (smriti.mall@rediffmail.com)
Online Published on 19 April, 2023.
Lantana camara is an invasive weed, alien for India, with active phytochemical constituents making it less prone to diseases. Recently, Lantana plants showing little leaf, shortening of internodes and stunted growth symptoms were detected in Rajahi village near Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. These symptoms are indicative of phytoplasma presence. With the use of PCR and nested PCR assay with primer pairs P1/P7 and 3Far/3Rev, the presence of phytoplasmas in samples from three symptomatic plants was confirmed. Sequence analysis revealed that the obtained 1.3 kb amplicon sequence shares more than 99% identity with sequences of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ and in the phylogenetic analysis, the sequence clustered with other ‘Ca. P. trifolii’ strains. In silico RFLP analysis of the 16Sr RNA gene sequence indicates its inclusion in 16SrVI-D subgroup which is the first time report in the world in Lantana plants.
Phytoplasma disease, 16S rRNA gene, Sequencing, 16SrVI-D, India
