Species Boundaries and Molecular Markers for the Classification of 16SrI Phytoplasmas Inferred by Genome Analysis.

ABSTRACT: Phytoplasmas are plant-pathogenic bacteria that impact agriculture worldwide. The commonly adopted classification system for phytoplasmas is based on the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of their 16S rRNA genes. With the increased availability of phytoplasma genome sequences, the classification system can now be refined. This work examined 11 strains in the 16SrI group within the genus 'Candidatus Phytoplasma' and investigated the possible species boundaries. We confirmed that the RFLP classification method is problematic due to intragenomic variation of the 16S rRNA genes and uneven weighing of different nucleotide positions. Importantly, our results based on the molecular phylogeny, differentiations in chromosomal segments and gene content, and divergence i

SUBMITTER: Cho ST 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7366425 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature