‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ associated with apricot yellows and peach witches’ broom in Iran

During field surveys carried out from 2012 to 2017 in seven provinces of Iran, phytoplasma-like symptoms were observed in apricot (yellows) and peach (witches’ broom). The aim of this work was to identify and characterize the agent(s) associated with such diseases by biological assays and molecular analyses. Healthy bitter almond and apricot or peach seedlings, grafted with shoots of symptomatic trees, exhibited phytoplasma symptoms. Nucleotide sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA gene allowed the classification of phytoplasmas associated with apricot yellows and peach witches’ broom within the ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma phoenicium’ species in the subgroup 16SrIX-B and variants. These and previously reported Iranian phytoplasma strains belong to SNP genetic lineages distinct from those found in Lebanon.