Characterization of a ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’-Related Strain Associated with Free-Branching in Euphorbia pulcherrima in Korea

A phytoplasma associated with poinsettia has previously been reported in Korea, but the report primarily focused on stem flattening symptoms and was based solely on partial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence analysis. In this study, phytoplasma-infected poinsettias collected in Jinan and Jeonju, Korea were examined for diverse symptom expression and additional molecular characterization of the associated phytoplasma. All seven plants showed a free-branching phenotype. Symptom severity ranged from low free-branching, with larger leaves and long internodes, to severe free-branching, with shortened internodes and small, irregularly twisted leaves. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence and iPhyClassifier analyses, the phytoplasma detected in this study was assigned to subgroup 16SrIII-A of the X-disease phytoplasma group (16SrIII). Although this assignment differs from the previous Korean report, which classified poinsettia-associated phytoplasmas subgroup 16SrIII-H, the present study interpreted the classification using an updated 16SrIII subgroup framework. Sequence analyses of more variable regions, including the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region, ribosomal protein (rp) operon, and secA gene, showed 99.46-99.55% nucleotide identity with ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’-related reference strains. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the poinsettia-associated phytoplasmas in Korea were closely related to the subgroup 16SrIII-A. These results expand the known symptom spectrum of phytoplasma-infected poinsettias and provide multilocus molecular characterization supporting the phylogenetic placement of poinsettia-associated phytoplasmas in Korea.