Broom Disease (broom + disease)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Kinds of Broom Disease

  • witch broom disease


  • Selected Abstracts


    Characterization of Phytoplasmas Associated With Almond Diseases in Iran

    JOURNAL OF PHYTOPATHOLOGY, Issue 11-12 2009
    L. Zirak
    Abstract In recent years, almond witches'-broom disease has been prevalent in almond growing areas in the centre and south of Iran. Furthermore, almond trees showing different symptoms of phytoplasma diseases such as little leaf, leaf rolling, dieback of branches, rosette and yellowing were observed in the central regions of Iran. DNA isolated from symptomatic almond trees was used to amplify 16S rDNA and 16S-23S rDNA intergenic spacer (IS) fragments by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using phytoplasma universal primer pairs (P1/P7, R16F2/R2, PA2F/R and NPA2F/R). Phytoplasmas were detected in symptomatic almonds in two major almond-growing regions, Isfahan and ChaharMahal-O-Bakhtiari. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses of nested PCR products using endonuclease enzymes HpaII and TaqI revealed that phytoplasmas associated with infected almonds are genetically different. Sequence analyses of amplified fragments of 16S rDNA and IS region indicated that the almond phytoplasmas in Iran are closely related to ,Candidatus (Ca.) Phytoplasma aurantifolia', ,Ca. Phytoplasma phoenicium', ,Ca. Phytoplasma solani' and ,Ca. Phytoplasma trifolii'. The phytoplasmas related to ,Ca. Phytoplasma aurantifolia' were more prevalent than other phytoplasmas in the central regions of Iran. [source]


    Development of novel microsatellites from Moniliophthora perniciosa, causal agent of the witches' broom disease of Theobroma cacao

    MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES, Issue 4 2008
    JUREMA R. Q. SILVA
    Abstract Moniliophthora perniciosa is the causal agent of the witches' broom disease of cacao. Based on available genomic sequences, we identified 30 new microsatellite loci, which were analysed using 50 isolates from four populations sampled over a wide geographical area in Brazil, including three populations from the Amazon, the fungal putative centre of diversity, plus one from Bahia. Nine loci were polymorphic, with an average of 2.9 alleles per locus. The level of polymorphism observed was low, but these markers may allow the evaluation of pathogen diversity and the establishment of molecular standards for isolate fingerprinting to support cacao breeding. [source]


    Moniliophthora perniciosa, the causal agent of witches' broom disease of cacao: what's new from this old foe?

    MOLECULAR PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 5 2008
    LYNDEL W. MEINHARDT
    SUMMARY Moniliophthora perniciosa (=Crinipellis perniciosa) causes one of the three main fungal diseases of Theobroma cacao (cacao), the source of chocolate. This pathogen causes Witches' broom disease (WBD) and has brought about severe economic losses in all of the cacao-growing regions to which it has spread with yield reductions that range from 50 to 90%. Cacao production in South America reflects the severity of this pathogen, as the yields in most of the infected regions have not returned to pre-outbreak levels, even with the introduction of resistant varieties. In this review we give a brief historical account and summarize the current state of knowledge focusing on developments in the areas of systematics, fungal physiology, biochemistry, genomics and gene expression in an attempt to highlight this disease. Moniliophthora perniciosa is a hemibiotrophic fungus with two distinct growth phases. The ability to culture a biotrophic-like phase in vitro along with new findings derived from the nearly complete genome and expression studies clearly show that these different fungal growth phases function under distinct metabolic parameters. These new findings have greatly improved our understanding of this fungal/host interaction and we may be at the crossroads of understanding how hemibiotrophic fungal plant pathogens cause disease in other crops. Historical summary of WBD:, The first WDB symptoms appear to have been described in the diaries of Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira (described as lagartão; meaning big lizard) from his observations of cacao trees in 1785 and 1787 in Amazonia, which is consistent with the generally accepted idea that M. perniciosa, like its main host T. cacao, evolved in this region. The disease subsequently arrived in Surinam in 1895. WBD moved rapidly, spreading to Guyana in 1906, Ecuador in 1918, Trinidad in 1928, Colombia in 1929 and Grenada in 1948. In each case, cacao production was catastrophically affected with yield reductions of 50,90%. After the arrival of M. perniciosa in Bahia in 1989, Brazil went from being the world's 3rd largest producer of cacao (347 000 tonnes in 1988,1990; c. 15% of the total world production at that time) to a net importer (141 000 tonnes in 1998,2000). Fortunately for chocolate lovers, other regions of the world such as West Africa and South East Asia have not yet been affected by this disease and have expanded production to meet growing world demand (predicted to reach 3 700 000 tonnes by 2010). Classification:,Moniliophthora perniciosa (Stahel) Aime & Phillips-Mora: super-kingdom Eukaryota; kingdom Fungi; phylum Basidiomycota; subphylum Agaricomycotina; class Agaricomycetes; subclass Agaricomycetidae; order Agaricales; family Marasmiaceae; genus Moniliophthora. Useful websites:,http://www.lge.ibi.unicamp.br/vassoura/, http://nt.ars-grin.gov/taxadescriptions/keys/TrichodermaIndex.cfm, http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/info-center/research-updates.asp, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/psi/spcl [source]


    Phytoplasma associated with a witches' broom disease of Gleditsia sinensis (Fabaceae) newly reported in China

    PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
    H. Min
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]


    A phytoplasma associated with witches' broom disease of Tabebuia pentaphylla in Brazil

    PLANT PATHOLOGY, Issue 2 2008
    R. G. Mafia
    No abstract is available for this article. [source]