Publications

characterization of the mycoplasmalike organism associated with witches'-broom disease of lime and proposition of a candidatus taxon for the organism, "candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia".	witches'-broom disease of small-fruited acid lime (wbdl) is a severe disease caused by a mycoplasmalike organism (mlo) in the sultanate of oman and the united arab emirates. the wbdl mlo was characterized by studying its genome size, the sequences of its 16s ribosomal dna and the 16s-23s ribosomal dna spacer region, and hybridization profiles obtained by using wbdl mlo-specific probes. the size of the wbdl mlo genome is 720 kbp. genomic similarities with the mlos of sunhemp, sesame, and alfalfa ...	1995	8590671
catharanthus roseus genes regulated differentially by mollicute infections.	a differential display of mrnas was used to isolate periwinkle cdnas differentially expressed following infection with one of three mollicutes: spiroplasma citri, candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia, and stolbur phytoplasma. twenty-four differentially expressed cdnas were characterized by northern blots and sequence analysis. eight of them had homologies with genes in databanks coding for proteins involved in photosynthesis, sugar transport, response to stress, or pathways of phytosterol synthes ...	2001	11204786
'candidatus phytoplasma', a taxon for the wall-less, non-helical prokaryotes that colonize plant phloem and insects.	the trivial name 'phytoplasma' has been adopted to collectively name wall-less, non-helical prokaryotes that colonize plant phloem and insects, which were formerly known as mycoplasma-like organisms. although phytoplasmas have not yet been cultivated in vitro, phylogenetic analyses based on various conserved genes have shown that they represent a distinct, monophyletic clade within the class mollicutes. it is proposed here to accommodate phytoplasmas within the novel genus 'candidatus (ca.) phyt ...	2004	15280299
identification of genes differentially expressed during interaction of mexican lime tree infected with "candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia".	"candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia", is the causative agent of witches' broom disease in mexican lime trees (citrus aurantifolia l.), and is responsible for major losses of mexican lime trees in southern iran and oman. the pathogen is strictly biotrophic, and thus is completely dependent on living host cells for its survival. the molecular basis of compatibility and disease development in this system is poorly understood. therefore, we have applied a cdna- amplified fragment length polymorphis ...	2011	21194490
evaluation of anti-phytoplasma properties of surfactin and tetracycline towards lime witches' broom disease using real-time pcr.	the anti-phytoplasma activities of surfactin (derived from iranian native bacillus subtilis isolates) and tetracycline towards candidatus "phytoplasma aurantifolia", the agent of lime witches' broom disease, were investigated. hplc was used to quantify the surfactin production in four previously characterized native surfactin-producing strains, and the one producing the highest amount of surfactin (about 1,500 mg/l) was selected and cultivated following optimized production and extraction protoc ...	2011	21301196
toward immunomodulation of witches broom disease of lime (wbdl) by targeting immunodominant membrane protein (imp) of candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia.	the witches' broom disease of lime (wbdl) caused by candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia is the most devastating disease of acidian lime in southern part of iran as it destroy thousands of trees yearly throughout these regions. traditional methods such as eradication of infected trees and insect vector control have shown limited effect on this case. therefore, alternative approaches such as plantibody-mediated resistance, have been considered. throughout present study we prepared sufficient amoun ...	2010	21534492
Proteomic analysis of the Mexican lime tree response to "Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia" infection.	"Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia" is the causative agent of witches' broom disease in the Mexican lime tree (Citrus aurantifolia L.), and is responsible for major tree losses in Southern Iran and Oman. The pathogen is strictly biotrophic, and, therefore, completely dependent on living host cells for its survival. The molecular basis of compatibility and disease development in this system is poorly understood. We applied a proteomics approach to analyse gene expression in Mexican limes infect ...	2011	21853195
shotgun proteomic analysis of the mexican lime tree infected with "candidatusphytoplasma aurantifolia".	infection of mexican lime trees (citrus aurantifolia l.) with the specialized bacterium "candidatusphytoplasma aurantifolia" causes witches' broom disease. witches' broom disease has the potential to cause significant economic losses throughout western asia and north africa. we used label-free quantitative shotgun proteomics to study changes in the proteome of mexican lime trees in response to infection by "ca. phytoplasma aurantifolia". of 990 proteins present in five replicates of healthy and ...	2013	23244174
generation and expression in plants of a single-chain variable fragment antibody against the immunodominant membrane protein of candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia.	witches' broom of lime is a disease caused by candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia, which represents the most significant global threat to the production of lime trees (citrus aurantifolia). conventional disease management strategies have shown little success, and new approaches based on genetic engineering need to be considered. the expression of recombinant antibodies and fragments thereof in plant cells is a powerful approach that can be used to suppress plant pathogens. we have developed a si ...	2013	23727814
in-depth transcriptome sequencing of mexican lime trees infected with candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia.	witches' broom disease of acid lime greatly affects the production of mexican lime in iran. it is caused by a phytoplasma (candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia). however, the molecular mechanisms that underlie phytoplasma pathogenicity and the mode of interactions with host plants are largely unknown. here, high-throughput transcriptome sequencing was conducted to explore gene expression signatures associated with phytoplasma infection in mexican lime trees. we assembled 78,185 unique transcript ...	2015	26132073
increased sodium and fluctuations in minerals in acid limes expressing witches' broom symptoms.	witches' broom disease of lime (wbdl), caused by 'candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia', is a very serious disease of acid limes. the disease destroyed more than one million lime trees in the middle east. wbdl results in the production of small, clustered leaves in some branches of lime trees. branches develop symptoms with time and become unproductive, until the whole tree collapses within 4-8 years of first symptom appearance. this study was conducted to investigate differences in minerals betw ...	2016	27099823
population genetic analysis reveals a low level of genetic diversity of 'candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia' causing witches' broom disease in lime.	witches' broom disease of lime (wbdl) is a serious phytoplasma disease of acid lime in oman, the uae and iran. despite efforts to study it, no systemic study attempted to characterize the relationship among the associated phytoplasma, 'candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia', from the three countries. this study utilized sequences of the 16s rrna, imp and seca genes to characterize 57 strains collected from oman (38), the uae (9) and iran (10). phylogenetic analysis based on the 16s rrna gene showe ...	2016	27757373
invasive mutualisms between a plant pathogen and insect vectors in the middle east and brazil.	complex multi-trophic interactions in vectorborne diseases limit our understanding and ability to predict outbreaks. arthropod-vectored pathogens are especially problematic, with the potential for novel interspecific interactions during invasions. variations and novelties in plant-arthropod-pathogen triumvirates present significant threats to global food security. we examined aspects of a phytoplasma pathogen of citrus across two continents. 'candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia' causes witches' ...	2016	28083099
identification of putative effector genes and their transcripts in three strains related to 'candidatus phytoplasma aurantifolia'.	molecular mechanisms underlying phytoplasma interactions with host plants are largely unknown. in this study attempts were made to identify effectors of three phytoplasma strains related to 'ca. p. aurantifolia', crotalaria phyllody (crp), faba bean phyllody (fbp), and witches' broom disease of lime (wbdl), using information from draft genome of peanut witches' broom phytoplasma. seven putative effectors were identified in wbdl genome (sap11, sap21, eff64, eff115, eff197, eff211 and effsap67), f ...	2017	28454710