Identification of 16SrII-E Phytoplasmas in Calendula arvensis L., Solanum nigrum L. and Chenopodium spp.

Epidemiological surveys were performed in Northern Sardinia (Italy) in a 10-year-old vineyard affected by “Bois noir” disease. Samples collected between May and October 2003 from chlorotic and stunted weeds belonging to 14 different taxonomic groups were indexed molecularly for detection of phytoplasmas. Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays using primers specific for the phytoplasma 16SrDNA gene showed three of six Calendula arvensis, one of two Solanum nigrum, and one of seven Chenopodium spp. assayed positive. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses and sequencing of amplified 16SrDNA fragments identified a putative phytoplasma in the ribosomal subgroup 16SrII-E. Further characterization of the rps3 gene, coding a ribosomal protein, confirmed the identification. However, the weeds and leafhopper species collected in the vineyard tested negative by PCR assays for the Stolbur phytoplasma, the causal agent of “Bois noir”. This is the first report of a phytoplasma of the 16SrII-E subgroup infecting C. arvensis, S. nigrum, and Chenopodium spp.