Xylella fastidiosa in naturally infected plants in Southern Apulia: an ultrastructural study

The discovery of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in olive trees affected by the quick decline syndrome (OQDS) in the Salento peninsula of Apulia (southern Italy) had prompted a series of studies which, among other aspects, investigated the presence of the bacterium in the xylem vessels of infected olives. These observations have now been extended to hosts other than olive that showed leaf scorching and desiccations of the canopy. In these hosts (Acacia saligna, Nerium oleander, Polygala myrtifolia, Prunus amygdalus) the presence of X. fastidiosa had previously been ascertained by PCR and ELISA.