Detection of Flavescence dorée in grapevines by RT-PCR

A rapid protocol for extracting crude sap from grapevine samples, and successive one-tube amplification by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), was applied on symptomatic and symptomless plants to detect the presence of "flavescence doree" phytoplasma. Results were compared with those obtained by utilizing nested-PCR on phytoplasma DNA-enriched preparations. Statistical analyses showed a good correlation between the two sets of results, with advantages for the RT-PCR as being rapid and reliable when used for large scale screening.