scholarly journals First Report of Pectobacterium parmentieri Causing Blackleg on Potato in Inner Mongolia, China

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaning Cao ◽  
Qinghua Sun ◽  
Zhiwen Feng ◽  
Utpal Handique ◽  
Jian Wu ◽  
...  

Blackleg on potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) is caused by Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. (Charkowski, 2018) worldwide. From June to August in both 2018 and 2019, cases of blackleg were investigated in potato-producing areas in Hulunbuir, Ulanqab, and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, China. The total surveyed field area was about 200 hectares. The plants showed typical blackleg symptoms, such as black and stunted stems or curled leaves (Fig. S1), and the number of infected plants were counted. The disease showed an incidence of around 8%. Five diseased plants were collected from a 10 ha potato field with approximately 75,000 potato plants (cv. mainly Favorita and Xisen) per hectare. Two-centimeter-long samples of symptomatic stems were removed from the selected plants using a sterile scalpel. The surfaces of the samples were disinfected with 75% ethanol for 2 min. They were then rinsed with sterile distilled water and soaked in 5 ml sterile distilled water for 30 min. Aliquots of three tenfold dilutions of this solution were plated onto the crystal violet pectate agar (CVP) plate and incubated for 3 days at 28°C (Ge et al., 2018). A single bacterial colony that showed pitting on CVP plates (Fig. S2) was picked with a toothpick, streaked onto nutritional agar (She et al., 2013) to obtain pure colonies. Amplification of a 1.4-kb segment containing 16S rRNA gene was performed on the pure colonies using the universal primer set 27F/1492R (Monciardini et al., 2002). The amplicons were sequenced and submitted to the GenBank Nucleotide Basic Local Alignment Search Tool analysis. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of four isolates (GenBank accession numbers: MN626412, MN626449, MN625916, and MT235556) showed more than 99% sequence identity to Pectobacterium parmentieri type strain RNS 08-42-1A (NR_153752.1) (Fig. S3). Six housekeeping genes proA (MT427753-MT427756), gyrA (MT427757–MT427760), icdA (MT427761-MT427764), mdh (MT427765–MT427768), gapA (MT427769-MT427772), and rpoS (MT427773–MT427776) of these four isolates were amplified and sequenced (Ma et al., 2007, Waleron et al., 2008). All sequences showed 99% to 100% sequence identity with Pectobacterium parmentieri strains. Phylogenetic trees (Fig. S4) were constructed by multi-locus sequence analysis (MLSA) using MEGA 6.0 software (Tamura et al., 2013). The samples were tested against Koch’s postulates on potato seedlings (cv. Favorita) by injecting 100 μl bacterial suspension (107 CFU/ml) or sterile phosphate buffered solution into the stems 2 cm above the base (Ge et al., 2018). The seedlings were incubated at 21°C and 80% humidity (She et al., 2013). Three to 5 days after inoculation, only infected seedlings showed similar symptoms as those observed in the field: the infected area turned black and rotten (Fig. S5). Bacterial colonies isolated from these symptomatic seedlings were identified using the same methods described above and were identified as inoculated Pectobacterium parmentieri strains. Blackleg on potato plants has been reported to be caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, and Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense in China (Zhao et al., 2018). To our knowledge, this is the first report of blackleg of potato caused by Pectobacterium parmentieri in Inner Mongolia, China. We believe that this report will draw attention to the identification of this pathogen, which is essential to disease management.

Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
UTPAL HANDIQUE ◽  
Yaning Cao ◽  
Zhiwen Feng ◽  
Qinghua Sun ◽  
Ruofang Zhang ◽  
...  

Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. cause Blackleg on potato worldwide (Charkowski, 2018). Potato plants (cv. Innovator V4 or Favorita) with blackleg symptoms (vascular browning of crown stems or curled leaves, Fig. S1) were observed in the field in Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia in 2018, and in Chengdu, Sichuan Province in 2020, in China. The disease incidence were around 10% and 20% in Xilingol League (20 ha) and Chengdu (40 ha), respectively. Diseased plants (5 from Xilingol League, and 2 from Chengdu) were collected to isolate the pathogen. Blackleg symptomatic stems were soaked in 75% ethanol for 2 min, rinsed and ground in sterile distilled water. Serial tenfold dilutions of the above solution were plated onto the crystal violet pectate agar (CVP) plate (Ge et al., 2018). Two to 3 days after incubation at 28°C, the bacterial colonies which digested pectin from the media and developed pit on CVP plates were purified and sequenced for identification using the universal 16S rRNA gene primer set 27F/1492R (Monciardini et al., 2002). Three colony sequences that showed more than 99% sequence identity to Pectobacterium polaris type strain NIBIO1392 (NR_159086.1) were submitted to the GenBank ( accession numbers: MT242579, MT242580, and MZ489432). Additionally, six housekeeping genes proA (MZ39581–MZ395583), gyrA (MZ395569–MZ395571), icdA (MZ395572–MZ39574), mdh (MZ395575–MZ395577), gapA (MZ395578– MZ395580), and rpoS (MZ39584–MZ395586) of these three isolates were amplified and sequenced (Ma et al., 2007, Waleron et al., 2008). All strains show 99% to 100% identity with Pectobacterium polaris strain NIBIO1392. Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences (Fig. S2) and concatenated sequences of the housekeeping genes (Fig. S3) of the 3 isolates were constructed using MEGA 6.0 software (Tamura et al., 2013). Koch’s postulate was performed on potato seedlings (cv. Favorita) by injecting 100 μl bacterial suspension (107 CFU/ml) or sterile phosphate-buffered solution into the crown area of the stems and kept at 80% humidity and 21°C for 2 days. Seven days after inoculation, the infected area of the inoculated seedlings rotten and turned black or even lodged, while the controls were symptomless (Fig. S4). It was observed that isolate MZ489432 from Chengdu, Sichuan Province was more virulent than the isolates from Xilingol League (Fig. S4). Bacterial colonies were reisolated from these symptomatic seedlings and identified using the same methods described above. Blackleg on potato plants has been reported to be caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense, and Pectobacterium parmentieri in China (Zhao et al., 2018; Cao et al., 2021). To our knowledge, this is the first report of blackleg of potato caused by Pectobacterium polaris in China. We believe that this report will draw attention to the management of this pathogen in China.


Plant Disease ◽  
2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Utpal Handique ◽  
Yaning Cao ◽  
Dekang Wang ◽  
Ruofang Zhang ◽  
Wensi Li ◽  
...  

Pectobacterium spp. and Dickeya spp. cause blackleg and soft rot on potato worldwide (Charkowski, 2018). Potato plants (cv. Favorita or Jizhang 8#) with blackleg symptoms (vascular browning of crown stems, Fig. S1) were observed in the field in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province in 2018, and in Ningde, Fujian Province in 2019, in China. The disease incidence was around 50% and 10% in Zhangjiakou (5 ha) and Ningde (4 ha), respectively. Diseased plants (3 from each site) were collected to isolate the pathogen. Blackleg symptomatic stems were soaked in 75% ethanol for 2 min, rinsed and ground in sterile distilled water. Serial tenfold dilutions of the above solution were plated onto the crystal violet pectate agar (CVP) plate (Ge et al., 2018). Two to 3 days after incubation at 28°C, 4 bacterial colonies in total which digested pectin from the media and developed pit on CVP plates were purified and sequenced for identification using the universal 16S rRNA gene primer set 27F/1492R (Monciardini et al., 2002). Two colony sequences that showed more than 99% sequence identity to Pectobacterium punjabense type strain SS95 (MH249622) were submitted to the GenBank ( accession numbers: OK510280, MT242589). Additionally, six housekeeping genes proA (OK546205, OK546199), gyrA (OK546206, OK546200), icdA (OK546207, OK546201), mdh (OK546208, OK546202), gapA (OK546209, OK546203), and rpoS (OK546210, OK546204) of these two isolates were amplified and sequenced (Ma et al., 2007, Waleron et al., 2008). All strains show 99% to 100% identity with MH249622T . Phylogenetic trees based on 16S rRNA gene sequences (Fig. S2) and concatenated sequences of the housekeeping genes (Fig. S3) of the 2 isolates were constructed using MEGA 6.0 software (Tamura et al., 2013). Koch’s postulate was performed on potato seedlings and potato tubers (cv. Favorita) by injecting 100 μl bacterial suspension (105 CFU/ml) or sterile phosphate-buffered solution into the crown area of the stems or the tubers and kept at 100% humidity and 21°C for 1 day. Four days after inoculation, the infected area of the inoculated seedlings rotten and turned black, while the controls were symptomless (Fig. S4). Two days after inoculation, the infected tubers rotten and turned black, while the controls were symptomless (Fig. S4). Bacterial colonies were reisolated from these symptomatic tissues and identified using the same methods described above. Blackleg on potato plants or soft rot on potato has been reported to be caused by Pectobacterium atrosepticum, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum, Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. brasiliense, Pectobacterium parmentieri, Pectobacterium polaris in China (Zhao et al., 2018; Cao et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2021). To our knowledge, this is the first report of blackleg/soft rot of potato caused by Pectobacterium punjabense in China. We believe that this report will draw attention to the management of this pathogen in China.


Plant Disease ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 93 (8) ◽  
pp. 842-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. M. Alippi ◽  
A. C. López

Peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii Regel) is a popular ornamental potted plant in Argentina. During May of 2008 (austral autumn), necrotic lesions of unknown etiology were observed on S. wallisii in a nursery in Pontevedra (34°45′6″S, 58°42′42″W). Plants first showed water-soaked areas starting from the leaf tips. Infected tissue became irregular, brown, dark-to-black lesions on leaves ~12 to 14 mm in diameter surrounded by yellowish haloes. Disease incidence approached 30%. Abundant bacterial streaming was observed from lesions when examined at ×100. Bacteria isolated from lesions formed white-to-cream, glistening, convex colonies on yeast dextrose calcium carbonate agar. Three bacterial strains isolated from different symptomatic plants were selected for comparative analysis with Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. carotovorum type strain ATCC 15713. All were facultatively, anaerobic, gram-negative rods, pectolytic on crystal violet pectate agar, nonfluorescent on King's medium B, and elicited a hypersensitive response in tobacco plants. All strains were oxidase and arginine dihydrolase negative, fermented glucose, did not hydrolyze starch, did not produce lecithinase, indole or the blue pigment indigoidine, reduced nitrates, hydrolyzed gelatin and esculin, able to rot onion slices, caused soft rot of potato tubers, resistant to erythromycin, and grew at 37°C. Acid was produced from cellobiose, d-glucose, d-melibiose, d-mannitol, d-mannose, l-rhamnose, d-sucrose, and l-arabinose but not from inositol and d-sorbitol. Bacteria utilized N-acetyl-glucosamine and citrate but not tartrate, benzoate, or propionate. Their identity was confirmed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing of strain F402Pcc (GenBank Accession No. FJ717337) showing a 99% homology with that of strain ATCC 3326 (FJ 5958691). Pathogenicity was verified on S. wallisii, Dieffenbachia picta, Aglaonema commutatum, and Anthurium andraeanum within the Araceae family by spraying two plants per strain tested with bacterial suspensions (108 CFU/ml) in sterile distilled water with and without wounding the leaves with sterile needles. Controls were sprayed with sterile distilled water. After 48 h in a humidity chamber, inoculated plants and controls were maintained at 25 ± 3°C in a greenhouse. Water-soaked areas developed from 24 to 48 h after inoculation and became necrotic within 4 to 5 days. Lesions expanded to resemble natural infection in S. wallisii within 20 days, while in the rest of the hosts tested, lesions were smaller and remained brown surrounded by yellowish haloes. All strains were reisolated from each host tested. The original and all reisolated strains were compared by enterobacterial repetitive intergeneric consensus-PCR (4) confirming that DNA fingerprints of the reisolated strains were identical to those of the original strains. No lesions were observed on controls. The pathogen was identified as P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum based on biochemical, physiological, pathogenicity tests, and 16S rRNA sequencing (1–3).To our knowledge, this is the first report of this pathogen on S. wallisii in Argentina although it has been reported as causing tomato pith necrosis (1) and soft rot of vegetables after harvest (3). References: (1) A. M. Alippi et al. Plant Dis. 81:230, 1997. (2) L. Gardan et al. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 53:381, 2003. (3) L. Halperin and L. S. Spaini. Rev. Argent. Agron. 6:261, 1939. (4) F. J. Louws et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 60:2286, 1994.


Plant Disease ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
JuFen Li ◽  
Ganghan Zhou ◽  
Tan Wang ◽  
Tao Lin ◽  
yiwen wang ◽  
...  

Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) is an important economic crop in China, which is planted on more than 376, 000 hectares with over 13 million tons of annual fruit production. In February 2020, a serious bacterial stem and leaf rot disease on muskmelon plants was observed in greenhouses in Liguo Town, Ledong County, Hainan Province, China (18.54° N, 108.87° E), with disease incidences being approximately 10 to 12%. Initially, soft rot symptoms appeared on petioles and stems, showing yellow bacterial ooze signs, which was different from the milky white ooze produced by Erwinia tracheiphila infection. The infected tissues of petioles, stems, and leaves eventually developed into browning and withering symptoms. To isolate and identify the causal agent, the lesion tissues were sterilized by immersion in 75% ethanol for 30 s, washed three times with sterile water, and then cut and soaked in 1 ml of distilled water for 10 min. The suspension was serially diluted and spread on Luria-Bertani agar (LB) medium. After incubation at 28°C for 24 to 36 h, the resulted bacterial colonies were tiny and were streaked on LB plate for further culture. After purification, the colonies were yellow, circular, smooth-margined, and two independent representative isolates CM-11 and CM-12 were used for further validation experiments. The electron microscope analysis showed that the pathogen was rod-shaped, with a length of 1.34 ± 0.22 μm and a width of 0.54 ± 0.06 μm (N=50), and had a single terminal flagellum. The gram staining of the two isolates was negative. Moreover, the tested strains were positive for catalase but negative for oxidase and were able to utilize D-glucose, L-arabinose, and D-mannitol. Morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics of both isolates were consistent with those of Pseudomonas spp. To verify the species identity of the bacterial pathogens, genomic DNA of isolates CM-11 and CM-12 was extracted and several conserved genes were amplified and sequenced, including the 16S rRNA gene with primers 27F/1492R (GenBank MW187499 and MW187500), rpoB gene with primers V4/LAPS27 (MW201910 and MW446819), and gyrB gene with primers gyrBBAUP2/APrU (MW187501 and MW187502) (Mulet et al. 2010). In the BLAST analysis, the 16S rRNA sequences showed a 99% similarity to that of Pseudomonas oryzihabitans strains TH19 (LC026009), AA21 (MG571765). The rpoB and gyrB sequences showed high similarity (> 98%) to P. oryzihabitans strains FDAARGOS_657. The phylogenetic tree analysis of rpoB and gyrB genes further verified that the two isolates CM-11 and CM-12 were most closely related to P. oryzihabitans species. Consequently, the two pathogenic isolates CM-11 and CM-12 were identified as P. oryzihabitans. Both strains of CM-11 and CM-12 were tested to accomplish Koch's postulates. Young branches of muskmelons (cultivar Yugu, 10 days after pollination) were chosen as the material for inoculation. Ten healthy detached branches were placed in 15 ml tubes by submerging the cutting wound in 5 ml of the bacterial suspension (108 CFU/ml). Ten additional branches were implemented with sterilized distilled water as a negative control. The inoculated branches were placed in a plastic box containing moistened paper at 28°C. Rotting symptoms appeared within 5 days after infection, while the control samples remained healthy. Bacteria were re-isolated from diseased tissues, and the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the isolates showed the same as those from the original pathogen. Panicle blight and grain discoloration disease caused by P. oryzihabitans on rice has been described in China (Hou et al. 2020). It’s also recently found that P. oryzihabitans caused center blackening disease on muskmelon fruit in Korea (Choi et al. 2019). This study indicated that it was a causative agent of stem and leaf rot disease during the field growth period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of P. oryzihabitans causing muskmelon stem rot in China.


Plant Disease ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 95 (12) ◽  
pp. 1581-1581 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Bau ◽  
S. C. Hung ◽  
W. C. Chang ◽  
Y. K. Chen

Phytoplasmas have been reported to cause various disorders in papaya (Carica papaya L.), including dieback, mosaic, and yellow crinkle in Australia, Nivun Haamir dieback in Israel, and bunchy top-like disease in Cuba (1). Papaya is an economically important crop in Taiwan, and therefore, is monitored for viral infections. In 2005, papaya plants showing chlorosis, yellows and shriveling of leaves, dieback and lateral growth of branches, bending of apical branches, latexosis of fruits, and brown necrosis in phloem tissues were observed in southern Taiwan. Examination by an electron microscope revealed the presence of pleomorphic phytoplasma cells in sieve tubes of the phloem of petioles and leaf veins of diseased plants. Total DNA was extracted individually from at least three diseased plants at each location with a commercial DNA preparation kit (Axygen Scientific, Union City, CA) and used for amplification of the phytoplasma 16S rRNA gene in PCR with universal primer pairs P1 and Tint (3). The full-length 16S rRNA gene has been amplified and cloned. Sequence analysis revealed that the fragment was 1,581 bp long (GenBank Accession No. AJ919994) and shared 99.6% sequence identity with that of the ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ reference strain (GenBank Accession No. AF248959). A virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence amplified from the R16F2n/R16R2 primers (2) was performed with iPhyClassifier (4) and pDRAW32. In silico restriction analysis identified the studied papaya phytoplasma as a subgroup 16SrXII-A strain. The sequence had 97 to 98% sequence identity with papaya phytoplasmas of the 16SrXII group in Australia (GenBank Accession No. Y10095), Israel (GenBank Accession No. AY903951), and Cuba (GenBank Accession No. AY725234). The disease incidence was 30 to 35% during the 2006 to 2010 growing seasons, and field surveys indicated that the disease has spread to central Taiwan with sporadic occurrence in recent years. To our knowledge, this is the first report of phytoplasma associated with papaya yellows in Taiwan. References: (1) Y. Arocha et al. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 55:2451, 2005. (2) I. M. Lee et al. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 48:1153, 1998. (3) C. D. Smart et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62:2988, 1996. (4) Y. Zhao et al. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 59:2582, 2009.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1570
Author(s):  
Chien-Hsun Huang ◽  
Chih-Chieh Chen ◽  
Yu-Chun Lin ◽  
Chia-Hsuan Chen ◽  
Ai-Yun Lee ◽  
...  

The current taxonomy of the Lactiplantibacillus plantarum group comprises of 17 closely related species that are indistinguishable from each other by using commonly used 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In this study, a whole-genome-based analysis was carried out for exploring the highly distinguished target genes whose interspecific sequence identity is significantly less than those of 16S rRNA or conventional housekeeping genes. In silico analyses of 774 core genes by the cano-wgMLST_BacCompare analytics platform indicated that csbB, morA, murI, mutL, ntpJ, rutB, trmK, ydaF, and yhhX genes were the most promising candidates. Subsequently, the mutL gene was selected, and the discrimination power was further evaluated using Sanger sequencing. Among the type strains, mutL exhibited a clearly superior sequence identity (61.6–85.6%; average: 66.6%) to the 16S rRNA gene (96.7–100%; average: 98.4%) and the conventional phylogenetic marker genes (e.g., dnaJ, dnaK, pheS, recA, and rpoA), respectively, which could be used to separat tested strains into various species clusters. Consequently, species-specific primers were developed for fast and accurate identification of L. pentosus, L. argentoratensis, L. plantarum, and L. paraplantarum. During this study, one strain (BCRC 06B0048, L. pentosus) exhibited not only relatively low mutL sequence identities (97.0%) but also a low digital DNA–DNA hybridization value (78.1%) with the type strain DSM 20314T, signifying that it exhibits potential for reclassification as a novel subspecies. Our data demonstrate that mutL can be a genome-wide target for identifying and classifying the L. plantarum group species and for differentiating novel taxa from known species.


Plant Disease ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 98 (8) ◽  
pp. 1152-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Pavlovic ◽  
M. Starovic ◽  
S. Stojanovic ◽  
G. Aleksic ◽  
S. Kojic ◽  
...  

Pot marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) is native to southern Europe. Compounds of marigold flowers exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor-promoting, and cytotoxic activities (4). In Serbia, pot marigold is cultivated as an important medicinal and ornamental plant. Typical phyllody, virescence, proliferation of axillary buds, and witches' broom symptoms were sporadically observed in 2011 in Pancevo plantation, Serbia (44°51′49″ N, 20°39′33″ E, 80 m above sea level). Until 2013, the number of uniformly distributed affected pot marigold plants reached 20% in the field. Due to the lack of seed production, profitability of the cultivation was seriously affected. Leaf samples from 10 symptomatic and 4 symptomless marigold plants were collected and total nucleic acid was extracted from midrib tissue (3). Direct PCR and nested PCR were carried out with primer pairs P1/16S-SR and R16F2n/R16R2n, respectively (3). Amplicons 1.5 and 1.2 kb in length, specific for the 16S rRNA gene, were amplified in all symptomatic plants. No PCR products were obtained when DNA isolated from symptomless plants was used. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns of the 1.2-kb fragments of 16S rDNA were determined by digestion with four endonucleases separately (TruI1, AluI, HpaII, and HhaI) and compared with those of Stolbur (Stol), Aster Yellows (AY), Flavescence dorée-C (FD-C), Poinsettia Branch-Inducing (PoiBI), and Clover Yellow Edge (CYE) phytoplasmas (2). RFLP patterns from all symptomatic pot marigold plants were identical to the Stol pattern, indicating Stolbur phytoplasma presence in affected plants. The 1.2-kb amplicon of representative Nv8 strain was sequenced and the data were submitted to GenBank (accession no. KJ174507). BLASTn analysis of the sequence was compared with sequences available in GenBank, showing 100% identity with 16S rRNA gene of strains from Paeonia tenuifolia (KF614623) and corn (JQ730750) from Serbia, and peach (KF263684) from Iran. All of these are members of the 16SrXII ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’ group, subgroup A (Stolbur). Phytoplasmas belonging to aster yellows (16SrI) (Italy and Canada) and peanut witches' broom related phytoplasma (16SrII) group (Iran) have been identified in diseased pot marigold plants (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of natural infection of pot marigold by Stolbur phytoplasma in Serbia. References: (1) S. A. Esmailzadeh-Hosseini et al. Bull. Insectol. 64:S109, 2011. (2) I. M. Lee et al. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 48:1153, 1998. (3) J. P. Prince. Phytopathology 83:1130, 1993. (4) M. Ukiya et al. J. Nat. Prod. 69:1692, 2006.


2015 ◽  
Vol 65 (Pt_1) ◽  
pp. 251-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L. Tavormina ◽  
Roland Hatzenpichler ◽  
Shawn McGlynn ◽  
Grayson Chadwick ◽  
Katherine S. Dawson ◽  
...  

We report the isolation and growth characteristics of a gammaproteobacterial methane-oxidizing bacterium (Methylococcaceae strain WF1T, ‘whale fall 1’) that shares 98 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with uncultivated free-living methanotrophs and the methanotrophic endosymbionts of deep-sea mussels, ≤94.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with species of the genus Methylobacter and ≤93.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with species of the genera Methylomonas and Methylosarcina . Strain WF1T represents the first cultivar from the ‘deep sea-1’ clade of marine methanotrophs, which includes members that participate in methane oxidation in sediments and the water column in addition to mussel endosymbionts. Cells of strain WF1T were elongated cocci, approximately 1.5 µm in diameter, and occurred singly, in pairs and in clumps. The cell wall was Gram-negative, and stacked intracytoplasmic membranes and storage granules were evident. The genomic DNA G+C content of WF1T was 40.5 mol%, significantly lower than that of currently described cultivars, and the major fatty acids were 16 : 0, 16 : 1ω9c, 16 : 1ω9t, 16 : 1ω8c and 16 : 2ω9,14. Growth occurred in liquid media at an optimal temperature of 23 °C, and was dependent on the presence of methane or methanol. Atmospheric nitrogen could serve as the sole nitrogen source for WF1T, a capacity that had not been functionally demonstrated previously in members of Methylobacter . On the basis of its unique morphological, physiological and phylogenetic properties, this strain represents the type species within a new genus, and we propose the name Methyloprofundus sedimenti gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain of Methyloprofundus sedimenti is WF1T ( = LMG 28393T = ATCC BAA-2619T).


Plant Disease ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (12) ◽  
pp. 1653-1653 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Starović ◽  
S. Kojic ◽  
S. T. Kuzmanovic ◽  
S. D. Stojanovic ◽  
S. Pavlovic ◽  
...  

Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) are among the healthiest fruits due to their high antioxidant content. The total growing area of blueberries in Serbia ranges from 80 to 90 ha. A phytoplasma-like disease was observed for the first time during July 2009 in three blueberry cultivars (Bluecrop, Duke, and Spartan) grown in central Serbia, locality Kopljare (44°20′10.9″ N, 20°38′39.3″ E). Symptoms of yellowing and reddening were observed on the upper leaves and proliferating shoots, similar to those already described on blueberries (4). There was uneven ripening of the fruits on affected plants. Incidence of affected plants within a single field was estimated to be greater than 20% in 2009 and 50% in 2010. Blueberry leaves, together with petioles, were collected during two seasons, 2009 and 2010, and six samples from diseased plants and one from symptomless plants from each cultivar, resulting in 42 samples in total. For phytoplasma detection, total DNA was extracted from the veins of symptomatic and asymptomatic leaves of V. corymbosum using the protocol of Angelini et al. (1). Universal oligonucleotide primers P1/P7 were used to amplify a 1.8-kb DNA fragment containing the 16S rRNA gene, the 16S-23S spacer region, and the 5′ end of the 23S rRNA gene. Subsequently, a 1.2-kb fragment of the 16S rRNA gene was amplified by nested PCR with the R16F2n/R16R2 primers. Reactions were performed in a volume of 50 μl using Dream Taq Green master mix (Thermo Scientific, Lithuania). PCR reaction conditions were as reported (3), except for R16F2n/R2 primers set (annealing for 30 s at 58°C). PCR products were obtained only from the DNA of symptomatic plants. Fragments of 1.2 kb were further characterized by the PCR-RFLP analysis, using AluI, HpaII, HhaI, and Tru1I restriction enzymes (Thermo Scientific, Lithuania), as recommended by the manufacturer. The products of restriction enzyme digestion were separated by electrophoresis on 2.5% agarose gel. All R16F2n/R2 amplicons showed identical RFLP patterns corresponding to the profile of the Stolbur phytoplasma (subgroup 16SrXII-A). The results were confirmed by sequencing the nested PCR product from the representative strain Br1. The sequence was deposited in NCBI GenBank database under accession number KC960486. Phylogenetic analysis showed maximal similarities with SH1 isolate from Vitis vinifera, Jordan (KC835139.1), Bushehr (Iran) eggplant big bud phytoplasma (JX483703.1), BA strain isolated from insect in Italy (JQ868436.1), and also with several plants from Serbia: Arnica montana L. (JX891383.1), corn (JQ730750.1), Hypericum perforatum (JQ033928.1), tobacco (JQ730740.1), etc. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that leaf discoloration of V. corymbosum was associated with a phytoplasma belonging to the 16SrXII-A subgroup. The wild European blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is already detected as a host plant of 16SrIII-F phytoplasma in Germany, North America, and Lithuania (4). The main vector of the Stolbur phytoplasma, Hyalesthes obsoletus Signoret, was already detected in Serbia (2). The first report of Stolbur phytoplasma occurrence on blueberry in Serbia is significant for the management of the pathogen spreading in blueberry fields. Since the cultivation of blueberry has a great economic potential in the region, it is important to identify emerging disease concerns in order to ensure sustainable production. References: (1) E. Angelini et al. Vitis 40:79, 2001. (2) J. Jović et al. Phytopathology 99:1053, 2009. (3) S. Pavlovic et al. J. Med. Plants Res. 6:906, 2012. (4) D. Valiunas et al. J. Plant Pathol. 86:135, 2004.


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