1Integrated Farming System Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University, Karamana-695002, Trivandrum, India
2Division of Plant Pathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi-110012, India
3Coconut Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University, Balaramapuram-695501, Trivandrum, India
4ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Sreekaryam-695017, Trivandrum, India
5Department of Plant Pathology, Vellanikkara, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur-680656, Kerala, India
*Corresponding author e-mail: Sajeena Abdulmajeed (sajeenamanjima@gmail.com)
Online published on 5 March, 2025.
Symptoms of little leaf, proliferation of young shoots and witches’ broom of suspected phytoplasma infection were observed in 8-year-old mango trees of the variety Kalappady at Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala in India. The leaf samples were assayed for the presence of phytoplasmas using nested PCR assays. Phytoplasma presence was detected in the symptomatic mango leaf samples by polymerase chain reaction with specific primer pairs amplifying the 16S rRNA gene. Pairwise sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences of mango phytoplasma strain indicates its relatedness with phytoplasmas in the clover proliferation group. In silico RFLP analyses using the iPhyClassifier of the 16S rDNA sequence of the mango phytoplasma strain allowed its classification into the 16SrVI-D subgroup. This is first report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ in mango trees in Kerala.
Fruit, Phytoplasma, 16SrVI-D subgroup, 16Sr RNA gene
