Possible improvement in phytoplasma detection

Phytoplasmas are wall-less, non culturable prokaryotes that cause severe diseases in several cultivated plants. In several cases these pathogens are efficiently transmitted in the field by leafhopper insect vectors. The use of phytoplasma-free material is effective for planting of new orchards and vineyards. To date, sensitive phytoplasma detection has been obtained using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques from herbaceous hosts, while intense work is still in progress to set up suitable procedures for detection for these pathogens in woody plant material. The specific amplification of ribosomal RNA (16SrRNA gene) was achieved by reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) of 4 different phytoplasmas infecting Catharanthus roseus and Arabidopsis thaliana. It is suggested that RT-PCR-based procedures could be used for phytoplasma detection of propagating material. Another advantage could be the use of the RNA extracts for plant virus detection.