First Report of Phytoplasmas Associated with Strawberry Proliferationand Tall Fleabane Witches’ broom Diseases in West Java, Indonesia
Laporan Pertama Fitoplasma Berasosiasi dengan Penyakit Proliferasi Stroberidan Sapu Jalantir di Jawa Barat, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14692/jfi.22.1.1-6Keywords:
16S-23S rRNA gene, Conyza sumatrensis, Fragaria ananassa, ITS1/ITS4, nested-PCRAbstract
Phytoplasmas are bacteria from the class Mollicutes that have been widely reported to be associated with diseases in hundreds of plant species across various countries. In Indonesia, infection of phytoplasmas have been reported from more than eight different plant families. This study aimed to confirm the association of phytoplasmas with strawberry plants showing proliferation symptoms and a wild plant exhibiting witches’ broom symptoms in West Java, using nested-PCR with two primer pairs designed from the 16S–23S rRNA gene region of phytoplasmas. Wild plants were identified both morphologically and molecularly based on the ITS region of the ribosomal RNA gene. Symptoms in strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) include shoot proliferation, phyllody, and dwarf fruits, while the wild plant exhibited witches’ brooms symptoms. The wild plant, commonly known as tall fleabane (Jalantir, in Bahasa Indonesia), was successfully identified as Conyza sumatrensis based on morphological characteristics and nucleotide sequence analysis of PCR amplicons using universal primers ITS1/ITS4. Initial PCR amplification using a primer pair P1/P7 for phytoplasmas from both strawberries and tall fleabane produced a positive DNA band of approximately 1800 bp with inconsistent band intensities. Further amplification using nested-PCR with a primer pair R16F2n/R16R2 yielded a stronger DNA band of approximately 1250 bp. The nested-PCR results confirmed that phytoplasmas are associated with both plants. This study represents the first report of phytoplasma association with strawberries (Rosaceae) and tall fleabane (Asteraceae) in Indonesia.
Downloads
References
Avendaño-Benequen M, Silva-Rojas HV, Marbán-Mendoza N, Rebollar-Alviter A. 2017. Mexican periwinkle virescence phytoplasma associated with phyllody and virescence in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) in Michoacan, Mexico. European Journal of Plant Pathology. 147:451–454. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-016-0998-3.
Brochu AS, Rodríguez-Martínez D, Goulet C, Pérez-López E. 2021. Strawberry green petal disease: A diagnostic guide. Plant Health Progress. 22(4):591–595. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-02-21-0049-DG.
Bertaccini A. 2022. Plants and phytoplasmas: when bacteria modify plants. Plants. 11(11):1425. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11111425.
Cui W, Quiroga N, Curkovic ST, Zamorano A, Fiore N. 2019. Detection and identification of 16SrXIII-F and a novel 16SrXIII phytoplasma subgroups associated with strawberry phyllody in Chile. European Journal of Plant Pathology. 155(3):1039–1046. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-019-01808-w.
Cui W, Flore N, dan Zamorano A. 2022. Draft genome sequence resource of Fragaria x pineapple phyllody phytoplasma strain StrPh-CL from Chilean strawberry. Plant Disease. 106:1031–1034. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-09-21-1959-A.
Deng S, Hiruki C. 1991. Amplification of 16S rRNA genes from culturable and nonculturable mollicutes. Journal of Microbiological Methods. 14(1):53–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-7012(91)90007-D.
Dogan MN, Kaya-Altop E, Türkseven SG, Serim AT. 2022. Determination of glyphosate-resistant Conyza spp. in orchards and vineyards in Turkey. Phytoparasitica. 50:567–578. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-022-00982-8.
Fernández FD, Meneguzzi NG, Guzmán FA, Kirschbaum DS, Conci VC, Nome CF, Conci LR. 2015. Detection and identification of a novel 16SrXIII subgroup phytoplasma associated with strawberry red leaf disease in Argentina. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 65(Pt_8):2741–2747. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.000276.
Fernández FD, Galdeano E, Conci LR. 2020. Phytoplasmas diversity and identification of new aster yellows subgroup (16SrI) associated with weed species in Argentina. International Journal of Systematic Evolutionary Microbiology. 70(1):35–43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.003704.
Gundersen DE, Lee IM. 1996. Ultrasensitive detection of phytoplasmas by nested-PCR assays using two universal primer pairs. Phytopathology Mediterranean. 35(3):144–151.
Hodgetts J, Boonham N, Mumford R, Harrison N, Dickinson M. 2008. Phylogenetic analysis based on SecA and 23S rRNA gene sequences for improved resolution of candidate species of “Candidatus Phytoplasma”. International Journal of Systematic Evolutionary Microbiology. 58(8):1826–1837. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1099/ijs.0.65668-0.
Jomantiene R, Maas JL, Dally EL, Davis RE. 2002. Phytoplasmas in strawberry with fruit phyllody. Acta Horticulturae. 567:635–638. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.567.137.
Kumar M, Kakraliya SS, Anand S, Choudhary SK, Kumari R. 2024. Advance in plant pathology: exploring the role of fungi, nematodes, algae, and phytoplasmas in crop health. International Journal of Advanced Biochemistry Research. 8(11):764–771. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i11Sj.3051.
Mokbel SA, Kheder AA. 2020. In vitro propagation of phytoplasma-free strawberry plants and molecular characterization of the pathogen. Middle East Journal of Applied Sciences. 10(3):490–500. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36632/mejas/2020.10.3.43.
Meneguzzi NG, Torres LE, Galdeano E, Guzman FA, Nome SF, Conci LR. 2008. Molecular characterization of a phytoplasma of the ash yellows group (16Sr VII-B) occurring in Artemisia annua and Conyza bonariensis weeds. Agriscientia. 25(1):7–15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31047/1668.298x.v25.n1.2736.
Montano HG, Bertaccini A, Pimentel JP, Paltrinieri S, Contaldo N. 2014. Erigeron (Conyza) bonariensis, a host of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma fraxini’-related strain in Brazil. Phytopathogenic Mollicutes. 4(2):72–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5958/2249-4677.2014.00583.0.
Ruiz MR, Mangolin CA, de Oliveira Jr RS, Mendes RR, Takano HK, Eisele TG, Machado MD. 2022. Mechanisms that may lead to high genetic divergence and to the invasive success of tall fleabane (Conyza sumatrensis; Asteraceae). Weed Science. 70(1):64–78. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2021.59.
Santos AA, Molligan J, Plante N, Peréz-Lopéz E. 2025. Strawberry green petal disease pathosystem in Québec, Canada. CABI Plant Health Cases. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/planthealthcases.2025.0006.
Schneider B, Seemüller CD, Smart BC, Kirkpatrick. 1995. Phylogenetic classification of plant pathogenic mycoplasma-like organisms or phytoplasma. Di dalam: Razin S, Tully JG, editor. Molecular and Diagnostic Procedures in Mycoplasmology: Molecular Characterization Volume 1. London (UK): Academic Press. 369–380. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012583805-4/50040-6.
Wei W, Shao J, Zhao Y, Inaba J, Ivanauskas A, Bottner-Parker KD, Costanzo S, Kim BM, Flowers K, Escobar J. 2024. iPhyDSDB: phytoplasma disease and symptom database. Biology. 13:1–10. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13090657.
White TJ, Bruns T, Lee S, Taylor J. 1990. Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics. Di dalam Innis MA, Gelfand DH, Sninsky JJ, White TJ, editor. PCR Protocol: A Guide to Methods and Applications. New York (USA): Academic press. hlm 315–322. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-372180-8.50042-1
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Fitopatologi Indonesia
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in Jurnal Fitopatologi Indonesia agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
