Establishment of a quantitative real-time PCR assay for the specific quantification of Ca. Phytoplasma prunorum in plants and insects

A real-time PCR assay for the quantification of Ca. Phytoplasma prunorum has been established which combines the specificity of detection with a low cost method of quantitative PCR. The assay uses the specific primers ECA1/ECA2 with a SYBR Green I protocol. A gene fragment of Ca. P. prunorum with the target of the primers has been cloned and is used as standard for quantification by the standard curve method. The assay has been successfully applied to measure the concentration of Ca. P. prunorum in insects as well as in different kinds of plant samples.