Detection of 16SrII Group Phytoplasma in China Aster (Callistephus chinensis)

China aster, Callistephus chinensis, is widely grown in Myanmar as an ornamental plant. Symptoms of flower virescence were observed in diseased China aster plants in Yezin, Myanmar. The presence of a phytoplasma was detected and identified by applying Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)/ Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) techniques and sequencing the 16S ribosomal DNA. The phytoplasma was identified as belonging to ribosomal subgroup 16SrII-A, never reported before in China aster. It showed almost 100 % similarity with a 16S rDNA sequence of sunn hemp witches' broom phytoplasma (AB55...