Plant Protect. Sci., 2002, 38(10):S28-S30 | DOI: 10.17221/10314-PPS

Molecular identification of a phytoplasma naturally infecting Populus nigra L. cv. Italica trees in CroatiaOriginal Paper

M. Šeruga, D. Škorić, S. Botti, S. Paltrinieri, N. Juretić, A. Bertaccini
1 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia
2 DiSTA-Patologia Vegetale, University of Bologna, I-40126 Bologna, Italy Tel.: +385 1 484 3851, Fax: +385 1 484 4001, E-mail: martina@botanic.hr

Leaf and branch samples of 10 Populus nigra L. cv. Italica trees were collected from the urban Zagreb area in late summer/autumn 2001. One of the trees exhibited leaf yellowing, overall sparse foliage, stunting and decline. Phytoplasma 16S rDNA was amplified in direct and nested PCR assays using universal and specific phytoplasma primer pairs, from nucleic acids extracted by two different procedures. Strong amplification signals were observed in samples from symptomatic Lombardy poplar as well as in samples from 4 of the asymptomatic trees. RFLP analyses of amplicons showed patterns characteristic of the phytoplasmas belonging to the Aster yellows group (16SrI). This is the first report of a phytoplasma naturally infecting poplar in Croatia.

Keywords: aster yellows phytoplasma; lombardy poplar; PCR; RFLP; 16S rDNA

Published: June 30, 2002  Show citation

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Šeruga M, Škorić D, Botti S, Paltrinieri S, Juretić N, Bertaccini A. Molecular identification of a phytoplasma naturally infecting Populus nigra L. cv. Italica trees in Croatia. Plant Protect. Sci. 2002;38(SI 1 - 6th Conf EFPP):S28-30. doi: 10.17221/10314-PPS.
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