Author/Editor		Brzin, J; Ermacora, P; Osler, R; Loi, Nazia; Ravnikar, Maja; Petrovič, Nataša
Title		Detection of apple proliferation phytoplasma by ELISA and PCR in growing and dormant apple trees
Type		članek
Source		Z Pflanzenk Pflanzen
Vol. and No.		Letnik 110, št. 5
Publication year		2003
Volume		str. 476-83
Language		eng
Abstract		Apple proliferation (AP), caused by a phytoplasma belonging to AP group, is an important vectorborne and graft-transmissible disease of apple trees in most European pome fruit-growing areas. Rapid and sensitive detection methods are required for its control. Recently developed monoclonal antibodies were evaluated for detecting AP phytoplasma by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) during different seasons and in different tissues of apple tree, including dormant bud-wood and roots. ELISA was compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on samples from 156 apple trees of 33 different cultivars. The sensitivity of ELISA was found to be high and AP phytoplasma could be reliably detected in samples of leaves, shoots and roots during the growing season and also in dormant bud-wood and roots. A simple and sensitive laboratory procedure for the detection of AP phytoplasma is proposed, based on ELISA, combined with simplified PCR analyses. The technique was successfully applied in a large-scale laboratory testing and should provide epidemiologists and state extension pathologists with a rapid and selective detection procedure during both growing and dormant seasons.
Descriptors		MYCOPLASMA FRUIT PLANT DISEASES ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION FLUOROIMMUNOASSAY