BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF APRICOT LATENT VIRUS AND SURVEY IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

• Published in: Journal of plant pathology 2009-12, Vol.91 (4), p.S4.64-S4.64
• Main Authors: Grimova, L, Zouhar, M, Rysanek, P, Bazzoni, A, Palmisano, F, Savino, V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Foveavirus; Plum pox virus; Prune dwarf virus; Prunus; Prunus necrotic ringspot virus
• ISSN: 1125-4653

Stone fruits are an important and widely grown in the Czech Republic. A number of viruses are known to occur in apricot, peach, plum and cherry trees in this country. The most common pathogens include Plum pox virus (PPV), Prune dwarf virus (PDV) and Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV). Apricot latent virus (ApLV), a definitive species in the genus Foveavirus, family Flexiviridae is another recently discovered virus which has been recorded from Mediterranean countries like France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt and Lebanon. In the Czech Republic, the occurrence of this virus has not yet been ascertained. To determine the best source material and the most reliable period for ApLV detection, RT-PCR assays, using a virus-specific set of primers, were performed during the growing season. Flowers, pollen grains, fruits, leaves, petioles and bark tissues from ApLV-infected apricot tree cv. Tirynthos were used as a plant material in this study. In order to check the presence and distribution of ApLV in the Czech Republic, a survey was carried out in several commercial stone fruit orchards and germplasm collections. Samples from 200 apricots were collected randomly for RT-PCR analysis in 2005, 2006, 2009. Until now no infected trees have been found. This suggested that ApLV has limited distribution in this area.