First report of Candidatus Phytoplasma Asteris Infecting Lily in Egypt

Abdel-Salam, Aly M.; Shanan, Nermeen Taha; Soliman, Doaa Z.; Ahmed, M. A.

doi:10.21608/eajbsc.2022.276644

First report of Candidatus Phytoplasma Asteris Infecting Lily in Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Plant Pathology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt

² Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.

³ Plant Pathology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.

10.21608/eajbsc.2022.276644

Abstract

During the inspection of imported grown Lily (Lilium spp.) plants (Acapulco cultivar), symptoms of Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris (Ca. P. astris) infestation was observed in the experimental fields of the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza governorate. The observed disease symptoms included stunting, scorched and leaf discoloration, flowering bud failure, and reduced quality of bulbs. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was the key technique employed in this study. Four pairs of primers were used in PCR analysis. In the first amplification, a universal primer pair P1/P7 was used to amplify a 1.8 kbp DNA fragment of the rRNA operon. In the second nested amplification, the universal primer pairs R16F2n/R16R2 (F2n/R2) and R16F0/R16R1 (F0/R1) and the specific P1/Ayint were used to detect 1.2, 1.44, and 1.5 kbp, respectively, from aster yellows group phytoplasma infecting plants. Containment of phytoplasma infestation in lily was obtained through a periodical spray of infected lily plants with tetracycline hydrochloride antibiotic. Lily plants are vegetatively propagated. This allows the spread of this phytoplasma to several economic crops.

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