Authors
E.
Choueiri
,
F.
Jreijiri
,
S.
Issa
,
Agricultural Research Institute of Lebanon, Tal Amara, Rayak, Lebanon
; and
E.
Verdin
,
J.
Bové
,
M.
Garnier
,
UMR GDPP, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique BP 81, 33883 Villenave d'Ornon cedex
During a survey conducted in October 1999 to establish the sanitary status of stone fruits in Lebanon, almond trees with symptoms of leaf yellowing, shoot proliferation, and dieback were observed in the Bekaa region. Because such symptoms are often associated with phytoplasma infections, samples were collected for analysis by PCR using universal primers for amplification of phytoplasma ribosomal RNA genes (2). DNA was extracted from the leaf midveins and/or bark phloem tissue from nine symptomatic trees and one symptomless tree in four different orchards as well as from healthy almond trees collected in France. PCR resulted in amplification of an expected 1.8 kbp rDNA fragment from all symptomatic samples but not from the healthy or symptomless samples. For characterization, the amplified DNA was analyzed by RFLP. Even though the restriction profiles were different from those published for other phytoplasmas and in particular from those infecting almond trees in Western Europe (1), sequence analysis of the amplified DNA revealed that it belongs to the pigeon pea witches' broom cluster (PPWB) (2). This is the first report of a phytoplasma infection in Lebanon and the first report for a PPWB group phytoplasma in almond trees.
References: (1) W. Jarausch et al. J. Plant Pathol. 104:17--27, 1998. (2) B. Schneider et al. 1995. Molecular and diagnostic procedures in Mycoplasmology Vol. 1, 369--380, S. Razin and J. G. Tully, eds.
