Identification of phytoplasmas belonging to the ribosomal groups 16SrIII and 16SrV in Chilean grapevines

Nested polymerase chain reaction assays using phytoplasma universal primer pairs P1A/P7A and R16F2n/R2 detected phytoplasmas in grapevine varieties Syrah and Superior in Chile showing yellows symptoms. Cloning, sequencing, and in silico restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses, allowed identification of phytoplasmas belonging to ribosomal subgroups 16SrV-A (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma ulmi’-related) and 16SrI II-J (‘Ca. P. pruni’-related). This is the first report of these phytoplasmas in grapevine in Chile.