Detection and Identification of Aster Yellows (16SrI) Phytoplasma in Peach Trees in Jordan by RFLP Analysis of PCR-Amplified Products (16S rDNAs)

Aster yellows phytoplasma were detected, for the first time, in peach trees in Al-Jubiha and Homret Al-Sahen area. Leaves of infected trees showed yellow or reddish, irregular water-soaked blotches. Discoloured areas become dry and brittle and the dead tissues dropped out. Under severe infections, leaves fall down and fruits dropped prematurely. Phytoplasmas were detected from all symptomatic peach trees by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using universal phytoplasmas primers P1/P7 followed by R16F2/R2. No amplification products were obtained from templates of asymptomatic peaches. PCR products (1.2 kb) used for restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (RFLP) after digestion with endonuclease AluI, HpaII, KpnI and RsaI produced the same restriction profiles for all samples, and they were identical with those of American aster yellows (16SrI) phytoplasma strain. This paper is the first report on aster yellows phytoplasma affecting peach trees in Jordan