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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Molecular Plant Pathology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #288656
Title: Incidence of sweet cherry viruses in Shandong Province, China and a case study on multiple infection with five viruses

Author
item ZONG, XIAOJUAN - Shandong Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item WANG, WENWEN - Shandong Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item WEI, HAIRONG - Shandong Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item WANG, JIAWEI - Shandong Academy Of Agricultural Sciences
item YAN, XUERUI - Shenyang Agricultural University
item Hammond, Rosemarie
item LIU, QINGZHONG - Shandong Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2014
Publication Date: 3/1/2015
Citation: Zong, X., Wang, W., Wei, H., Wang, J., Yan, X., Hammond, R., Liu, Q. 2015. Incidence of sweet cherry viruses in Shandong Province, China and a case study on multiple infection with five viruses. Journal of Plant Pathology. 9:61-68.

Interpretive Summary: Virus diseases are a serious problem in sweet cherry orchards worldwide, resulting in reduced tree growth and survival and reduced fruit quality and yield. Infection of trees by more than one virus can result in more damaging effects; therefore it is important to determine what viruses are present in infected trees. We found that most commercial sweet cherry trees in the Shandong province of China were infected by at least two viruses. This report will be a valuable reference for an international audience of researchers in industry, academia, and government organizations with an interest in plant pathology and control of fruit tree diseases.

Technical Abstract: To investigate the occurrence of viruses in sweet cherry in China, leaf samples displaying leaf necrotic lesions or chlorotic spots were collected from trees in six orchards in the Shandong province. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis indicated that Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), Prune dwarf virus (PDV), Little cherry virus-2 (LChV-2), Cherry virus A (CVA) and Cherry green ring mottle virus (CGRMV) were present and that most of the samples (70%) were infected by at least 2 viruses. Mixed infection by the five viruses simultaneously caused more serious field symptoms in the sweet cherry trees, including delayed flowering and fruit blast. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the PNRSV titer was high in functionally active plant tissues and disappeared or was transferred rapidly from the senescent tissues. High virus titers of PDV and CVA were observed in the young plant tissues and relatively high levels were maintained in senescent leaves. LChV-2 and CGRMV titers were low in all of the tissues in this analysis. This is the first extensive investigation of the incidence of sweet cherry viruses in China.