Molecular detection and characterization of phytoplasma infecting Celosia argentea L. plants in Lithuania

Symptoms of diseased Celosia argentea L. plants included flower phyllody, general yellowing and stunting of plants. Amplification of phytoplasmal 16S rRNA gene sequence, in PCRs containing phytoplasma universal primer pairs P1/P7, R16F2n/R16R2 and template DNA extracted from diseased C. argentea plants, confirmed that the plants were infected by phytoplasma. The 1.2 kbp 16S rDNA product of nested PCR, primed by primer pair R16F2n/R16R2 was subjected to single enzyme digestions with 8 restriction endonucleases. RFLP analysis revealed that the plants were infected by a phytoplasma belonging to group 16SrI (aster yellows phytoplasma group), subgroup I-M. Strains in this subgroup have a broad pathogenic potential, since they infect a wide range of plant host species.