Micropropagation of phytoplasma-affected Limonium sinuatum Mill. plants

Healthy and AY-affected plants of L.sinuatum have been propagated in vitro for 12 months on the media with and without cytokinins. In the contrary to the healthy plants the phytoplasma affected statice showed abnormal proliferation of the axillary shoots, shortening of the internodes, smaller leaves and severe chlorosis. On the medium without cytokinins, diseased plants proliferated and formed 7.0 axillary shoots per explant but the healthy ones only formed 2.3 shoots; however, the fresh weight of them was similar. On the media with cytokinins, the multiplication rate and fresh weight of healthy shoots greatly in-creased, but of the diseased plants were on the same laevel or decreased. During tissue culture phytoplasma could be detected in symptomatic plants by PCR as well as electron microscope however, the phytoplasmas showed the symptoms of degeneration.