Association of Aster Yellow Phytoplasma with Witches′ Broom Disease of Ash(Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hence) in Korea

Typical whiches broom symptoms caused by phytoplasma were observed in Ash (Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hence) in Korea. The symptoms were showing abnormally small leaves, short internodes, and proliferation of shoots. Fluorescence and electron microscopy of leaf midribs revealed phytoplasma positive DAPI fluorescence and numerous phytoplasma bodies localized in the phloem sieve tubes. Phytoplasma DNA of 1.8 Kb was detected consistently from all symptomatic samples by the amplification of phytoplasma DNA with the phytoplasma specific primer pair Pl/P7. But no phytoplasma DNA was detected in healthy ash seedlings. Based on sequence analyses of an amplified region, this phytoplasma is closely related to Eqilodium phyllody, Mulberry dwarf, and Aster yellows phytoplasmas with the homology of 99.95 ％, 99.79 ％ and 99.78 ％, respectively, This phylogenetic analyses indicate that ash witches broom phytoplasma but is evidently distinct from the ash yellows group 16SrⅦ and should be classified into the Aster yellows group 16SrⅥ.