Easy and Efficient DNA Extraction from Woody Plants for the Detection of Phytoplasmas by Polymerase Chain Reaction

Abstract

A simple and efficient procedure for the extraction of high-quality DNA from phytoplasma-infected woody and herbaceous plants for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection is described. This procedure does not require phenol, chloroform, or alcohol for the precipitation of nucleic acids. Herbaceous and woody plant material are extracted in an identical manner with no additional purification or enrichment steps required. The method utilizes commercially available microspin-column matrices, and the extraction of total DNA can be achieved in less than 1 h. The method has been used to successfully purify phytoplasma DNA from whole leaves, leaf petioles and midribs, roots, and dormant wood from a diverse selection of plant material. The phytoplasmas detected by PCR include pear decline, western X-disease, peach yellow leaf roll, peach rosette, apple proliferation, Australian grapevine yellows, and Vaccinium witches'-broom.