Plants of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) exhibiting general stunting, proliferation and phyllody associated with leaf yellowing and reddening were observed in three localities of Central Serbia. Phytoplasma strains belonging to 16SrIII-B and 16SrXII-A groups were detected and identified by RFLP and sequence analysis of 16S rDNA. Stolbur phytoplasma tuf gene RFLP analysis showed the presence of the TufAY-b-type phytoplasma subgroup in 80% of symptomatic samples. This is the first report of 16SrIII-B and 16SrXII-A phytoplasma groups affecting alfalfa in Serbia.

Summary The undemanding LC-MS/MS method was developed for the synchronized analysis of atropine and scopolamine in maize crop. The dSPE was carried out with 1% acetic acid in acetonitrile/water and a mixture of magnesium sulphate, sodium chloride and sodium citrate. The analytes were separated on a Zorbax XDB C18 column using methanol/water as the mobile phase in gradient mode. The detection was done using a tandem masss spectrometry (MS/MS) in the positive ESI. The tropane alkaloids exhibited excellent linearity in the range of 2-20 µg/kg with the LOQ of 5 µg/kg for maize. The extraction recoveries of atropine and scopolamine were 65.7 and 85.5% with the intraday RSDr 10.25 and 4.29%, respectively. The validated method was appled to real maze samples. One sample contained 18.8 µg/kg of atropine and 6.3 µg/kg of scopolamine.

The complete genome sequence of grapevine Bulgarian latent virus (GBLV) has been determined. RNA-1 (7,452 nt in length) contains a single ORF of 6,285 nt, encoding a polyprotein with conserved motifs characteristic of the viral protease cofactor (Prot-cofact), the NTP-binding protein (NTP), the cysteine-like protease (Cyst-Prot) and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of members of the order Picornavirales and show high aa sequence identity with blackcurrant reversion virus (BRV, 64%). RNA-2 (5,821 nt) contains a single ORF of 4,500 nt, encoding a polyprotein in which the conserved motifs of the movement protein (MP) and coat protein (CP) have been identified. The GBLV CP aa sequence shows highest homology with that of blueberry leaf mottle virus (BLMoV, 68%). Both RNAs have a poly(A) tail and a NCR at the 3' and 5' termini, respectively. The results of this study confirm the classification of GBLV as a member of a distinct species in subgroup C of the genus Nepovirus.

Anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) is an important medicinal spice plant that belongs to the family Apiaceae. Anise seeds are rich in essential oils and this is a reason why anise production in Serbia has increased over the last decade. During a routine health inspection on anise seeds collected from three localities in the province of Vojvodina (Mošorin, Veliki Radinci and Ostojićevo) during 2012 and 2013, it was found out that Fusarium spp. were a commonly observed fungi.

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