Fig mosaic in Corsica.

Fig trees with mosaic symptoms were observed in the vicinity of Porto Vecchio (Corsica, France). Samples were collected from a plant showing strong chlorotic mottling of the leaves and analyzed for the presence of viruses by electron microscope observations of thin-sectioned leaf tissues and leaf dips and by RT-PCR assays using primers specific for Fig leaf mottle-associated virus 1 or Fig leaf mottle-associated virus 2, or for an unnamed filamentous virus thought on molecular evidence to be a member of the family Flexiviridae. Parenchyma cells of thin-sectioned tissues contained the double-membrane bodies typically associated with fig mosaic disease and bundles of filamentous particles. Particles of the same type in leaf dips were clearly decorated by an antiserum to the putative flexivirus. An amplicon of 380 bp was obtained in RT-PCR assays using primers specific for the coat protein gene of the putative flexivirus.No amplicon was obtained using primers specific for FLMaV-1 and FLMaV-2. The evidence suggests that the donor tree was infected by at least two viruses, which supports the idea that multiple infectious agents may be involved in the aetiology of fig mosaic. This