Abstract
B. prionitis plants showing symptoms of yellowing, little leaf and early senescence were observed during June 2010 at the Botanical Garden of Delhi University, India. Five plants with symptoms indicating phytoplasma infection and two symptomless plants were collected for genomic DNA isolation from stem tissue. Purified DNA was subjected to nested-PCR using generic phytoplasma primers targeting the 16S ribosomal RNA gene P1/P7. BLAST comparisons of the partial 16S rDNA sequence (GenBank accession no. JF958127) corresponding to B. prionitis phytoplasma, strain Dhba1, revealed the highest sequence identity (99%) with those of members of the 16SrII group 'Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia' [Phytoplasma aurantifolia]. A maximum parsimony dendrogram supported the sequencing results. This is thought to be the first report of B. prionitis as a new host for the 16SrII phytoplasma group in India and worldwide.