phytoplasma

Scientific  

/ fī′tə-plăz′mə /

1. 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.

2. See also mycoplasma

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Example Sentences

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

From Science Daily

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.

From Science Daily

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.

From Seattle Times

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.

From Seattle Times

“It looks like it stays in a juvenile phase,” said Saskia Hogenhout, a scientist at the John Innes Centre in England, who studies the life cycle of the parasite, which is called Aster Yellows phytoplasma.

From New York Times