Preliminary evaluation of the use of an antiserum obtained from phytoplasma culture

The development of methods for culturing phytoplasmas in artificial media suggested the evaluation of strategies to produce antibodies against a phytoplasma target. To this purpose, an aster yellows phytoplasma isolate obtained from field collected infected grapevine was used for the production of a polyclonal antiserum. It was then tested by ELISA and IFAS methods in order to check and evaluate its suitability for phytoplasma detection in plant samples.