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Genetic diversity among ginger genotypes collected from different parts of the country was studied using molecular markers (30 RAPD and 55 SSR). Compared to RAPD primers SSR primers were efficient in distinguishing the genotypes. A total of 86 and 23 polymorphic bands were observed with RAPD and SSR primers, respectively. Percentage polymorphism observed between RAPD and SSR primers was 97.40 % and 56.54 %. Grouping of genotypes by using combined data of RAPD and SSR primers indicated that irrespective of their place of collection or geographical origin, 30 genotypes were clustered into different groups which showed that, each individual genotype is having wider variability or it might be due to the genetic similarity existing among them.

Lisianthus (Eustoma russellianum) is one of the emerging cut flower crops in international flower market quickly ranked in top ten cut flowers worldwide. Despite its rising popularity, studies relating to the identification and characterization of viral diseases affecting it are lacking from India. Thus, the present study was focused on identification and characterization of virus in lisianthus plants samples collected from Vensai Floritech, Narasihmanahalli village, Tubagere hobli, Doddaballapur taluk, Bengaluru rural district, Karnataka state, India exhibiting symptoms similar to begomoviruses infections. Association of the begomovirus with sample was confirmed by PCR using begomovirus specific primers which resulted in the expected amplicon (~ 1.2 kb). Further, whole-genome amplification was done by rolling circle amplification (RCA) for one representative sample (LIS-1). The amplified RCA product was cloned, sequenced and analyzed. The phylogenetic and nucleotide (nt) sequence analysis revealed that the begomovirus associated with lisianthus plants showed the maximum nt identity of 91.0% with sida yellow vein Madurai virus (SIYVMV-TN:OM141480) infecting a weed, Sida cordata, reported from Tamil Nadu, India, which is geographically close to Karnataka. Based on species demarcation criteria for begomoviruses, the collected isolate is identified as a strain of sida yellow vein Madurai virus associated with leaf curl of lisianthus from India and proposed the name "Sida yellow vein Madurai virus -[India:Karnataka:Doddaballapura:Lisianthus:2023]" and designated as SIYVMV-[IN:Kar:Dod:Lis:23]. Further, recombination analysis revealed a single intra-specific recombination event in the genomic region. Hence, this study provides a one more evidence of expanding host range for begomoviruses in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven fruit samples from the tomato plants exhibiting different kinds of symptoms on leaves and fruits were collected from farmers fields located in two states (Karnataka and Maharashtra) of India. To confirm the identity of the pathogen, eleven tomato fruit samples were subjected DAS-ELISA, which revealed that all samples showed positive reaction to ToBRFV antibodies. Further, total RNA was isolated from infected fruits and subjected to RT-PCR assay using tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) coat protein gene specific primers. The resulting PCR amplicons of ~ 500 bp from eleven tomato samples were cloned, and sequenced. Sequence analysis of the CP gene from eleven isolates showed nucleotide identity of 100% with several ToBRFV isolates reported from different countries around the world. This result was further confirmed through phylogenetic analysis, wherein the eleven ToBRFV isolates are clustered closely with isolates reported from different parts of the world. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first record of ToBRFV infecting tomato in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandalwood spike disease (SSD) is a serious disease of Indian sandal tree (Santalum album). The disease is caused by a Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris strain of subgroup 16SrI-B. The disease is naturally spread through leafhopper and root-grafting. The infected plants take long time to express disease symptoms and eventually die. The diagnostic disease symptom of SSD is crowded small chlorotic leaves on stiff twigs that has spike like appearance. There are various biological, histopathological, electron microscopic and molecular methods available for the detection and identification of phytoplasma. Biological and histopathological tests are time consuming and ambiguous. Serological test like ELISA and molecular test like PCR are more versatile and accurate for the detection of phytoplasma. Application of various molecular techniques like nested PCR, RFLP and sequence analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA led to identify the SSD phytoplasma isolates as a member of 16SrI-B and 16SrXI-B phytoplasma subgroups. In this chapter, various diagnostic methods utilised for the detection and identification of SSD phytoplasma are summarised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the first case of Colletotrichum fructicola causing anthracnose disease in karonda (Carissa carandas) in India. Karonda is a shrub native to the Himalayas and is valued for its fruit. Anthracnose, a fungal disease, can reduce fruit quality and yield, leading to economic losses. The symptoms of anthracnose were observed on karonda leaves in two fields in the Tumkur district of Karnataka state. The pathogen responsible for the infection was identified as Colletotrichum fructicola through DNA analysis and confirmed through pathogenicity tests. This research highlights the need for further investigation into the diversity and incidence of this disease and the development of effective control strategies. [Extracted from the article]