First report of a phytoplasma associated with sapodilla flattened stem disease in Iran

Disease symptoms resembling those associated with phytoplasmas were observed in Manilkara zapota (sapodilla) trees in Hormozgan province, Iran. A nested polymerase chain reaction using phytoplasma universal primers was used to detect phytoplasmas in symptomatic trees. Amplification and sequencing of a 1.2-kb 16S rDNA fragment confirmed that sapodilla plants were infected by a phytoplasma belonging to the 16SrII group.