First report of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’ (16SrI) associated with yellows disease of Trachyspermum ammi from India

Trachyspermum ammi is a traditional medicinal plant and is widely used for curing various diseases in humans. During a 2022 survey, yellowing symptoms associated with phytoplasma disease were observed in Bhopal. The disease was detected by direct and nested PCR using phytoplasma-specific primers in symptomatic plant leaf samples. The suspected ~ 1.2 kb amplified amplicons were sequenced and submitted in GenBank under accession number OQ216747. The phytoplasma isolate showed the highest 99.42% sequence identity and phylogenetic relationships with the 16 S ribosomal RNA gene of an isolate of aster yellows phytoplasma (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’; 16SrI group). This is the first report of ‘Ca. P. asteris’ (16SrI) associated with the yellows disease of T. ammi.