Phylogram of phytoplasma
The RFLP-pattern of the phytoplasma amplicons was identical to that of Sugarcane white leaf phytoplasma, except the grassy shoot sample from Suphanburi (data not shown). A phylogenetic tree, which was constructed from the sequence of the 16S/23S intergenic spacer with emphasis on phytoplasma strains which showed close sequence similarity to the Thailand sugarcane phytoplasma, placed it into the Rice yellow dwarf group. The Rice yellow dwarf group comprises the Sugarcane white leaf phytoplasma, the Sugarcane grassy shoot phytoplasma and the Sugarcane green grassy shoot phytoplasma (Sakuanrungsirikul et al. 2012). It was next to phytoplasma from white leaf-symptomatic plants from Taiwan, Myanmar and India (Fig. 2).