Conversely, the sequence showed more than 97.5 % nucleotide identities, the
threshold criterion for classification of ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’
species (Firrao et al. 2004), with all previously
described ‘Ca. P. asteris’ including hydrangea phyllody
phytoplasmas reported in Europe: 99.9 % identity with
strain HYPh and 99.5 % identity with strain HYDP