A metagenomic investigation of phytoplasma diversity in Australian vegetable growing regions

Phytoplasmas are unculturable, plant pathogenic bacteria that infect and impact yield of many agriculturally important plant species. In this study, 16S rRNA gene detection and sequencing for triaging was coupled with metagenomic sequencing to determine the diversity of phytoplasma taxa and associated diseases in Australian vegetable growing regions. None of the phytoplasma taxa that were detected were exotic to Australia, but host- and geographic-range expansions were recorded for some. This study significantly contributes to the available sequence data for these bacteria. The sequence and metadata provided in this study offer an improved understanding of the phytoplasma taxa present in the different states and territories of Australia, and contributes to improving phytoplasma taxonomy, molecular epidemiology, and diagnostics.