Mollicutes are prokaryotic plant pathogens that lack cell walls. They can cause diseases in plants like yellows, virescence, stunting, and phyllody by blocking nutrient transport or interfering with plant hormones. Common symptoms include yellowing, leaf distortion, and stunted growth. Mollicutes are resistant to penicillin but sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Two important plant pathogenic mollicutes are phytoplasmas and spiroplasmas, which are transmitted by insect vectors like leafhoppers. Fastidious vascular bacteria in the genera Xylella and Clavibacter can inhabit plant xylem and cause diseases like Pierce's disease of grapes and ratoon stunting
Mollicutes are prokaryotic plant pathogens that lack cell walls. They can cause diseases in plants like yellows, virescence, stunting, and phyllody by blocking nutrient transport or interfering with plant hormones. Common symptoms include yellowing, leaf distortion, and stunted growth. Mollicutes are resistant to penicillin but sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Two important plant pathogenic mollicutes are phytoplasmas and spiroplasmas, which are transmitted by insect vectors like leafhoppers. Fastidious vascular bacteria in the genera Xylella and Clavibacter can inhabit plant xylem and cause diseases like Pierce's disease of grapes and ratoon stunting
Mollicutes are prokaryotic plant pathogens that lack cell walls. They can cause diseases in plants like yellows, virescence, stunting, and phyllody by blocking nutrient transport or interfering with plant hormones. Common symptoms include yellowing, leaf distortion, and stunted growth. Mollicutes are resistant to penicillin but sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Two important plant pathogenic mollicutes are phytoplasmas and spiroplasmas, which are transmitted by insect vectors like leafhoppers. Fastidious vascular bacteria in the genera Xylella and Clavibacter can inhabit plant xylem and cause diseases like Pierce's disease of grapes and ratoon stunting
Mollicutes are prokaryotic plant pathogens that lack cell walls. They can cause diseases in plants like yellows, virescence, stunting, and phyllody by blocking nutrient transport or interfering with plant hormones. Common symptoms include yellowing, leaf distortion, and stunted growth. Mollicutes are resistant to penicillin but sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Two important plant pathogenic mollicutes are phytoplasmas and spiroplasmas, which are transmitted by insect vectors like leafhoppers. Fastidious vascular bacteria in the genera Xylella and Clavibacter can inhabit plant xylem and cause diseases like Pierce's disease of grapes and ratoon stunting
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MOLLICUTES
LEI ANN T. PUNLA, MSA
INSTRUCTOR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN AGRIBUSINESS 2 Mollicutes characteristics 1. Prokaryotic 2. No cell walls but have a unit plasma membrane; 9-12 nm thick 3. Pleomorphic – due to absence of cell wall, hence, sensitive to osmotic change 4. Contain both RNA and DNA 5. Pathogenic on plants, arthropods, other animals including man 6. Cause diseases in plants in several ways: a) Blocking translocation in the phloem b) Interfering with plants’ hormonal balance 7. Common symptoms: a) Yellows b) Virescence c) Stunting d) Phyllody e) Production of axillary shoots and adventitious roots 8. Resistant to penicillin but sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol Class Mollicutes Order Mycoplasmatales 2 plants pathogenic taxa: a) Phytoplasmas b) Spiroplasmas
c) Phytoplasmas Formerly called mlos or mycoplasma-like organisms Generally found in the phloem Varied shape but generally spherical or ovoid; may also appear mucoid or filamentous Nutritionally fastidious; very difficult to culture in artificial media Reproduce by budding and by binary transverse fission of cells b) Spiroplasmas -Helical or spiral-shaped during certain phases of growth -Relatively easy to grow -Require sterol for growth -Larger than phytoplasma Transmission By insect vectors a) Mainly by leafhoppers, planthoppers, psyllids b) Insect acquire the mollicutes in the phloem sieve tubes of the plant c) Incubation period from acquisition feeding: 10-45 days Mechanical transmission e.g. Budding and grafting Diseases caused by Mollicutes In 1967, Doi and co-workers observed mollicutes to be associated with aster yellows, mulberry dwarf and potato witches’ broom.
Examples of diseases: Lethal yellowing of coconut trees – phytoplasma causes death of flowers and leaves; blight kills trees in 6 months or less Citrus stubborn disease – spiroplasma affects leaves, fruits and stems; stunting, die-back, bunchy growth of twigs and branches, mottling, leaf chlorosis. Corn stunt – spiroplasma causes leaf chlorosis, stunting, and bunchy top appearance. Management of Diseases caused by Mollicutes 1. Use resistant cultivars or hybrids 2. Proper control of insect vectors 3. Use of mollicute-free planting material 4. Eradication of alternative hosts – ex. Weeds 5. Use of tetracycline antibiotic – if economically feasible and no danger of residue on edible plant parts 6. Sanitation – cutting and burning diseased plant parts during early stages of infection FASTIDIOUS VASCULAR BACTERIA (RICKETTSIA- LIKE ORGANISM OR RLO) Cannot be grown on simple culture media in absence of host cells
Fastidious phloem-limited bacteria – observed in 1972 in phloem of clover
and periwinkle plants affected with clover club leaf disease. Later observed in citrus plants affected with the greening disease.
Fastidious xylem-limited bacteria – observed in 1973 in xylem vessels of
grape plants affected with Pierce’s disease (Xylella fastidiosa) and alfalfa affected with alfalfa dwarf. FVB Characteristics 1. Generally rod-shaped 2. Measures 0.2 to 0.5 um in diameter by 1 to 4 um in length 3. Bounded by a cell membrane and a cell wall 4. No flagella 5. Cell is usually undulated or rippled 6. Nearly all fastidious vascular bacteria are gram negative 7. Several xylem-limited bacteria are placed in the recently created genus Xylella. 8. Only Xylem-limited – inhabiting bacteria causing sugarcane ratoon stunting and Bermuda grass stunting are gram positive; Classified as members of the genus Clavibacter (formerly Corynebacterium) 9. None of the phloem – inhabiting bacteria (cause of clover club leaf and citrus greening) has been grown in culture. 10. All xylem-inhabiting fastidious bacteria can be grown in culture in complex nutrient media; growth is slow and colonies produced are tiny (1-2mm). 11. All fastidious vascular bacteria are unable to grow on conventional bacteriological media. 12. Fastidious vascular bacteria are sensitive to tetracycline and penicillin and to high temperature. Important Diseases caused by Fastidious Vascular Bacteria 1. Fastidious xylem-limited gram negative bacteria: (caused by forms of the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa) a) Pierce’s disease of grapes b) Citrus variegation chlorosis c) Phony peach disease d) Almond leaf scorch e) Plum leaf scald 2. Fastidious xylem-limited gram positive bacteria: a) Ratoon stunting disease of sugarcane – caused by Clavibacter xyli subsp. Xyli 3. Fastidious phloem-limited bacteria – cause of the important citrus greening disease and minor diseases of clover and periwinkle. Plant Pathogenic Protists They are not considered as fungi anymore but protozoa-like or fungi-like Their cell walls are not made up of chitin but of cellulose and other glucans I. Protozoa-like protists – unicellular, plasmodial, or very simple multicells, phagotrophic (feeding by engulfing food) 1. Phylum Myxomycota or slime molds – form naked, amorphous plasmodia a) Genera: Fuligo, Mucilago, Physarum 2. Phylum Plasmodiophoromycota or endoparasitic slime molds – fungal-like a) Examples: Plasmodiophora brassicae – clubroot of cabbage and other crucifers b) Spongospora subterranean – powdery scab of potato tubers 3. Flagellate protozoa – reported in laticiferous plants particularly in the sieve tubes a) Example: Phytomonas leptovasorum – phloem necrosis of coffee in Surinam b) Heart rot disease of coconut and oil palm II. Fungal-like protists – have mycelia and conidia but cell walls are made up of cellulose and glucans, not chitin as true fungi would have. Phylum Oomycota Class Oomycetes Order Peromosporales Families: a) Pythiaceae – causes damping-off, root rots of vegetables Genus: Phytium (damping-off, rots of vegetables, turf diseases) Genus: Phytophthora (root rots, rots of fleshy tissues) b) Peronosporaceae – downy mildews c) Albuginaceae – white rust Thank you for listening!
