Phytoplasma infected plants in Austrian forests: role as a reservoir?

Reports on phytoplasma diseases in plant wild species are rare. Particularly interesting is the case in an Austrian forest, in the region Rosalia, Lower Austria, where a high number of plants, including Euonymus europaea, Sorbus aucuparia, Fraxinus excelsior, Fagus sylvatica, Betula alba, Sambucus nigra, Pyrus sp. and Picea abies, appeared with typical symptoms attributed normally to phytoplasma infection. Plants of Rubus ideaus, Rubus fruticosus and Vaccinium myrtillus, which represent small fruit species, showed clear symptoms. In preliminary test to verify phytoplasma presence in V. myrtillus the presence of phytoplasmas belonging to ribosomal group 16SrVI were identified after nested PCR on 16S ribosomal gene and restriction digestion with the appropriate enzymes. These plants were introduced in vitro to assure the conservation of the phytoplasma isolate for further analysis. Since in this area only a few home gardens are present in the neighbourhood of the forest land, the way of introduction of the phytoplasmas remains obscure.