Detection of phytoplasmas in Passiflora edulis in Guadeloupe

During surveys in Guadeloupe a disease consisting in leaf dropping and vine drying in Passiflora edulis plants three years old plantation was observed. The affected plants were located near asymptomatic ones, however due to the high number of symptomatic plants the fruit production drastically decreased in 2017. Fruit from symptomatic and asymptomatic plants were collected and the peel was used for molecular investigation to verify possible phytoplasma presence. After PCR/RFLP analyses only the fruit collected from symptomatic plants resulted infected with two phytoplasmas enclosed in subgroups 16SrI-B and 16SrX-B. For the latter phytoplasma the molecular characterization on the aceF gene allow to confirm is identification as a ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma prunorum’-related phytoplasma strain. This is the first report of both phytoplasmas in passion fruit plants and one of the first reports of 16SrX-B phytoplasmas in cultivated not stone fruit species out of Europe.