Phytoplasma diseases in date palms in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The date palm is one of the most important cash crops in Saudi Arabia and in the world. A disease called “Alwijam” associated with phytoplasma presence has lately been affecting date palms in Saudi Arabia. Date palm samples, both with and without the symptoms were collected from different locations and the DNA was extracted and indexed by a nested PCR reaction using different sets of phytoplasma generic primers to amplify the 16S rDNA region. The sequences of 16S rDNA obtained were compared with those of other phytoplasmas in GenBank and the results obtained indicated that there are two phytoplasma groups in symptomatic date palm: 16SrI in Alhasa and 16SrII in other locations in Saudi Arabia.