Determination of the disease-causing plant pathogens phytoplasms in vineyard production areas of Mersin province by molecular methods and explaining their phylogenetic relationships

This research aims to detect the phytoplasma disease agent in the vineyard -commonly known as grape vine - (Vitis vinifera), which has an important place among fruit species and whose production areas have increased in the world and in our country in recent years, reaching levels that almost threaten agricultural production, and to diagnose the pathogen accurately and in detail. was carried out for the purpose of characterization. In the research, the grape growing regions of Tarsus district, located in Mersin province, constituted the main materials of the study. In this region where grapes are grown commercially, leaf and shoot samples were taken from the vineyards in question for the purpose of the study. In this study, plants with increasing yellowing and drying in vineyard production areas in Mersin province and its surroundings were tested for phytoplasmas, and it was revealed that some of the symptomatological findings were related to phytoplasmas. In the observations made on the vines, backward deaths, various types of deformation and yellowing or browning of the leaves and deformations throughout the plant were observed. If ignored, these symptoms will continue to spread gradually, both with propagation materials and harvesting or pruning activities, if they are caused by phytoplasma. Therefore, the aim of this study was to take plant samples from symptomatic grapevines in the Tarsus district of Mersin province, test them with molecular methods and identify them. Total Nucleic Acid isolation, direct-PCR, nested-PCR studies and plant sap obtained from young leaves of plants infected with phytoplasma were used. In the study, phytoplasma agents causing disease in vineyards were investigated and Candidatus Phytoplasma solani, which causes Bois noir (BN) disease, was identified.