Articles
Recovery of Vaccinium myrtillus from phytoplasma infection in vitro
Article number
1357_52
Pages
369 – 376
Language
English
Abstract
Consumer interest in healthy foods has increased market demand for high quality fruits such as wild and cultivated blueberries.
They are used as medicinal plants, due to their high anthocyanin content and are an excellent source of antioxidants.
Berries and leaves have various health effects and are used as a disinfectant, to lower cholesterol levels and as treatment for rheumatic diseases.
In vitro techniques like micropropagation are increasingly being used as alternative ways of breeding, for the production of large numbers of plants on a commercial scale, for sanitation purposes and for the maintenance of obligate plant pathogens like viruses and phytoplasmas.
A plant of wild European blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) exhibiting symptoms of shoot proliferation and small leaves was potted in the greenhouse and served as donor material for tissue culture establishment.
Infected cultures were maintained over a period of more than 10 years and regularly screened for the presence of phytoplasmas.
Interestingly over a period of several years a phenomenon of spontaneous remission of symptoms occurred, comparable to several cases of fruit trees under in vivo conditions described as recovery. A thorough screening by PCR was carried out over several years and revealed that a spontaneous sanitation that occurred during the in vitro cultivation process, comparable to NDASH but with a lower extent (percentage) meristem culture and thermotherapy.
They are used as medicinal plants, due to their high anthocyanin content and are an excellent source of antioxidants.
Berries and leaves have various health effects and are used as a disinfectant, to lower cholesterol levels and as treatment for rheumatic diseases.
In vitro techniques like micropropagation are increasingly being used as alternative ways of breeding, for the production of large numbers of plants on a commercial scale, for sanitation purposes and for the maintenance of obligate plant pathogens like viruses and phytoplasmas.
A plant of wild European blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) exhibiting symptoms of shoot proliferation and small leaves was potted in the greenhouse and served as donor material for tissue culture establishment.
Infected cultures were maintained over a period of more than 10 years and regularly screened for the presence of phytoplasmas.
Interestingly over a period of several years a phenomenon of spontaneous remission of symptoms occurred, comparable to several cases of fruit trees under in vivo conditions described as recovery. A thorough screening by PCR was carried out over several years and revealed that a spontaneous sanitation that occurred during the in vitro cultivation process, comparable to NDASH but with a lower extent (percentage) meristem culture and thermotherapy.
Publication
Authors
E.G. Borroto Fernández, V. Hanzer, F. Lok-Lee, M. Laimer
Keywords
Vaccinium, witches broom, forest plants, molecular detection, micropropagation, spontaneous remission of symptom
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