PHYTOPLASMA Definition & Meaning

phytoplasma

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Any of a group of extremely small bacteria that are similar to mycoplasmas in that they have a cell membrane instead of cell walls and can assume a variety of shapes, but are parasitic solely in plants. In many plants, phytoplasmas invade cells of the food-carrying tissue known as phloem and are usually spread by plant-sucking insects, such as the leafhopper, which draws its food from phloem. Phytoplasmas cause some 200 plant diseases affecting several hundred genera of plants.
See also mycoplasma

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Researchers have uncovered the intricate molecular mechanism used by parasitic phytoplasma bacteria, known for inducing 'zombie-like' effects in plants.

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The discovery sheds new light on a peculiar phenomenon in nature -- mostly seen in "witches' brooms" in which plant stems and leaves proliferate due to Phytoplasma bacteria.

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The phytoplasma of the X-disease pathogen causes the obstruction of phloem, which inhibits the transfer of carbohydrates created by photosynthesis to other areas of a plant, such as new shoots, roots and developing fruit, Galimba said.

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Sugar accumulates on the leaves of an infected plant and is converted to starch, providing a reliable marker of phytoplasma infection in other crops, such as citrus groves.

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SAP05 is not the first substance made by this phytoplasma that the scientists have linked to the symptoms it causes.

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