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Open AccessArticle
Molecular Characterization of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus’ Strains from Commercial Citrus-Growing Regions in Cuba Using Polymorphic Regions
by
Camilo Paredes-Tomás
Camilo Paredes-Tomás
Camilo Paredes-Tomás is a scientific researcher at the Bacteriology Department, Instituto de en He [...]
Camilo Paredes-Tomás is a scientific researcher at the Bacteriology Department, Instituto de Investigaciones en Fruticultura Tropical (IIFT). He completed his MSc. studies at the Universidad Agraria de la Habana and has been awarded a 2024 National Award from the Cuban Academy of Sciences. He recently co-led the Tropicsafe Projects. He has published fifteen papers in various journals and has obtained several scientific results related to Candidatus Liberibacter and Phytoplasma species. His teaching disciplines are related to the field identification and molecular diagnostics of phytopathogenic bacteria in tropical fruit crops, and his interests include diagnosis systems, molecular characterization, sequence analysis, and phylogeny.
,
Maritza Luis-Pantoja
Maritza Luis-Pantoja
Miguel Ramos-Leal
Miguel Ramos-Leal
Marialea Melle
Marialea Melle
Assunta Bertaccini
Assunta Bertaccini
1
Instituto de Investigaciones en Fruticultura Tropical, Miramar, La Habana 11300, Cuba
2
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Bologna 40127, Italy
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Microorganisms 2025, 13(10), 2381; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13102381 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 4 September 2025
/
Revised: 10 October 2025
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Accepted: 12 October 2025
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Published: 15 October 2025
Abstract
Studies of the genetic diversity of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ strains based on housekeeping genes have been unsuccessful. The increasing availability of complete genome sequences of several strains from different countries has allowed the identification of regions having greater variability, which have been successfully implemented for the bacterium characterization, including microsatellites, genes of prophage origin, and miniature transposable elements with inverted-repeats (MITEs). In the present work, the genetic structure of 147 ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ strains from nine provinces of Cuba were investigated using two polymorphic regions, consisting of typing for prophages and MITEs. The results showed an important level of coexistence of type 1 and 2 prophages in the Cuban strains, while the type 3 prophage was not detected. Likewise, a high rate of co-occurrence of both types of MITEs (MCLas-A and -B) was also observed. However, the MITE MCLas-A was detected only in its empty form. The double-locus analysis allowed the identification of eight genotypes. Out of these, seven genotypes were present in the Western region, which constitutes the region with the highest genetic variability. This is the first report of a genetic characterization of Cuban strains of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ with polymorphic markers in orchards growing in commercial citrus regions.
Share and Cite
MDPI and ACS Style
Paredes-Tomás, C.; Luis-Pantoja, M.; Ramos-Leal, M.; Melle, M.; Bertaccini, A.
Molecular Characterization of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus’ Strains from Commercial Citrus-Growing Regions in Cuba Using Polymorphic Regions. Microorganisms 2025, 13, 2381.
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13102381
AMA Style
Paredes-Tomás C, Luis-Pantoja M, Ramos-Leal M, Melle M, Bertaccini A.
Molecular Characterization of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus’ Strains from Commercial Citrus-Growing Regions in Cuba Using Polymorphic Regions. Microorganisms. 2025; 13(10):2381.
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13102381
Chicago/Turabian Style
Paredes-Tomás, Camilo, Maritza Luis-Pantoja, Miguel Ramos-Leal, Marialea Melle, and Assunta Bertaccini.
2025. "Molecular Characterization of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus’ Strains from Commercial Citrus-Growing Regions in Cuba Using Polymorphic Regions" Microorganisms 13, no. 10: 2381.
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13102381
APA Style
Paredes-Tomás, C., Luis-Pantoja, M., Ramos-Leal, M., Melle, M., & Bertaccini, A.
(2025). Molecular Characterization of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus’ Strains from Commercial Citrus-Growing Regions in Cuba Using Polymorphic Regions. Microorganisms, 13(10), 2381.
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13102381
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