Partial biological and molecular characteristics of a phytoplasma associated with Behshahr (Mazandaran) periwinkle phyllody

In 2013 surveys conducted in the green area and parks of Behshahr city (Mazandaran province of Iran), phyllody disease of periwinkle was observed. Agent of Behshahr periwinkle phyllody (BPP) was transmitted from naturally phyllody affected periwinkle to periwinkle by grafting and to eggplant via dodder inoculation. Naturally affected periwinkle plants and all inoculated plants reacted positively in direct PCR using P1/P7 primer pair and nested PCR using P1/P7 and R16F2n/R16R2 primer pairs and expected fragments were amplified. Virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of nested PCR product sequence (1.2 kbp), percent homology and phylogenetic analysis of full length 16S rDNA sequence showed that BPP phytoplasma belongs to phytoplasma in the clover proliferation (16SrVI) phytoplasma group. The same analyses classified BPP phytoplasma with 'Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolli', a member of A subgroup in the 16SrVI group. This is the first report of periwinkle phytoplasma disease and characterization of associated phytoplasma in Mazandran province.