First report of Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum infecting almonds in Tunisia

Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum was detected for the first time in almond (Prunus dulcis Mill.) cv. ‘Abiod’ in Tunisia. Infected trees showed emergence of new growth during dormancy and leafed out before flowers opened in addition to early defoliation in summer. Phytoplasma was detected by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using universal phytoplasma primer pairs P1/P7 and F2n/R2. A band with expected size was observed in samples collected from five symptomatic, but not symptomless almond trees. PCR products (1.2 kbp) were used for restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis after digestion with endonucleases RsaI and SspI. RFLP patterns obtained were similar to those reported previously for the European stone fruit yellows (ESFY, 16SrX-B). Identification has been further confirmed by PCR using ESFY specific primer pairs (ECA1/ECA2). This is the first report of Ca. Phytoplasma prunorum infecting almonds in Tunisia.