Characterization of ‘ Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris ’-related strain association with leaf yellowing of Wrightia antidysenterica (Arctic Snow) in Tripura, India

Wrightia antidysenterica is a small compact and evergreen ornamental shrub. Little leaf and yellowing symptoms were recorded on W. antidysenterica plants in June 2018 at College of Agriculture campus, Lembucherra, Tripura. The expected amplicons of ~1.25 kb and ~480 bp were obtained in symptomatic leaf samples with the phytoplasma specific universal 16S rRNA and secA gene primers. Sequence comparison analysis of 16S rRNA and secA gene confirmed the association of ‘ Ca . P . asteris ’-related strain. However, comparing the restriction profiles of 16S rRNA gene in virtual RFLP analysis revealed that the phytoplasma was a 16SrI group related strain. To our knowledge, this is the first report of phytoplasma association with W. antidysenterica little leaf and yellowing in world.