Lagenaria siceraria yellows associated with phytoplasma presence in Brazil

Lagenaria siceraria, the bottle gourd or calabash gourd, is distributed in Brazil and locally known as “porongo”. It is used as a green vegetable and some cultivars are marketed as handicraft. In the State of Rio de Janeiro, naturally diseased plants were observed with reduced leaf size, leaf malformation and yellowing. Molecular analysis revealed the presence of a phytoplasma related to ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni’ that was classified as a new subgroup -Y into the 16SrIII ribosomal group. This is the first report of the genus Lagenaria harbouring a phytoplasma worldwide.