Open Access

ARTICLE

Prevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Viruses Infecting Fig Trees in Saudi Arabia

Muhammad Zaman¹, Mahmoud A. Amer¹, Muhammad Amir¹, Zaheer Khalid¹, Muhammad Taimoor Shakeel², Ibrahim M. Al-Shahwan¹, Mohammed A. Al-Saleh^1,3,*

1 Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 145111, Saudi Arabia
2 Department of Plant Pathology, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan
3 Chair of Date Palm Research, Center for Chemical Ecology and Functional Genomics, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

* Corresponding Author: Mohammed A. Al-Saleh. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2025, 94(3), 897-910. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2025.063093

Received 05 January 2025; Accepted 26 February 2025; Issue published 31 March 2025

Abstract

The common fig (Ficus carica L.), Moraceae family, is a commonly grown fruit tree in the Mediterranean region. Fig mosaic disease (FMD) poses a substantial threat to Saudi Arabia’s fig-producing economy. A survey was conducted during the two seasons of 2021 and 2022 on fig trees, displaying various fig mosaic disease symptoms. A total of 200 fig leaves and fruit samples were collected from various governorates in several Regions of Saudi Arabia including Riyadh, Tabuk, Hail, Qassim, Al-Jouf, Makkah, Jazan, Al-Madinah, Asir, and Northern Borders. These samples were tested by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with specific pairs of primers to assess the existence of Fig mosaic virus (FMV), Fig leaf mottle-associated virus 1 (FLMaV-1), Fig leaf mottle-associated virus 2 (FLMaV-2), Fig mild mottle-associated virus (FMMaV) and Fig fleck-associated virus (FFkaV). The results indicate that four viruses were found in mixed infections and tested positive. FMV was detected with a high infection rate of 46% followed by FLMaV-2 with an infection rate of 20%, FMMaV with an infection rate of 16%, and FLMaV-1 with an infection rate of 7%, respectively, while FFkaV was negative in all tested samples. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis results showed that the FMV isolates shared 90.3% similarity with other FMV isolates, particularly those from Bosnia and Herzegovina (KU198368). While FLMaV-1 showed 92.5% similarity with the reference isolate FLMaV-1 (KX397035), the isolates of FLMaV-2 exhibited 94.7% similarity with reference FLMaV-2 isolate (FN687742), and the isolate of FMMaV showed 94% similarity with reference FMMaV isolate (MG242131) based on sequence comparison. According to the RT-PCR results, FMV was effectively identified in all five fig varieties (Al Faiz Yellow, Asali, Brown Turkey, Iraqi, and Kaab Al-Ghazal). Contrarily, none of these varieties had FLMaV-1, FLMaV-2, or FMMaV. This study investigates the occurrence and economic impact of the viruses that infect fig trees in Saudi Arabia. This suggests that FMV is the primary virus infecting these fig varieties and there is no co-infection with the other tested viruses. These findings underscore the urgent need for implementing region-specific management strategies, such as breeding resistant cultivars, enforcing phytosanitary measures to limit virus spread, and prioritizing vector control to mitigate the economic impact of FMD on Saudi Arabia’s fig industry.

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