Identification and characterization of Potato spindle tuber viroid infecting Solanum jasminoides and S. rantonnetii in Italy.

Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd), a quarantine pathogen included in the EPPO A2 list was identified in plants of Solanum jasminoides and S. rantonnetii in Italy. Molecular characterization of four S. jasminoides and one S. rantonnetii PSTVd isolates showed limited sequence variability. A tissue-printing hybridization method for detecting PSTVd in ornamental Solanaceae was successfully tested and its potential for large scale surveys is discussed. This appears to be the first report of PSTVd in Italy and the first report of PSTVd naturally infecting S. rantonnetii.