CLUSTER-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION AMPLIFICATION OF 16S RDNA SEQUENCES FOR DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION OF MYCOPLASMALIKE ORGANISMS

Oligonucleotide primers were designed for polymerase chain reaction amplification of 16S rDNA from mycoplasmalike organisms (MLOs) that belong to the aster yellows (AY) MLO strain cluster. Primer pairs designated F0R1, F1R1, F2R1, and F4R1 primed the amplifications of DNA sequences of approximately 1,440, 1,320, 1,300, and 660 bp, respectively, when templates consisted of DNAs extracted from plants infected by MLOs known to be members of the AY cluster. No amplifications were observed when templates consisted of DNA extracted from healthy plants or from plants infected by non-AY MLO cluster strains. The polymerase chain reaction primer pairs enable detection of MLOs associated with several different plant diseases and permit rapid and specific identification of their affiliations with AY MLO.