Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #165279

Title: A VIRUS ASSOCIATED WITH BLUEBERRY FRUIT DROP DISEASE

Author
item Martin, Robert
item TZANETAKIS, I - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY,
item SWEENEY, M - B.C.MINISTRY OF AGRI
item WEGENER, L - SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: International Society for Horticultural Science Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2004
Publication Date: 5/1/2004
Citation: Martin, R.R., Tzanetakis, I.E., Sweeney, M., Wegener, L.A. A virus associated with blueberry fruit drop disease. 8th International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture, Oeiras, Portugal and Seville, Spain, May 3-8. 2004. p. OP39.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: During the past four years, a fruit drop symptom was observed in several blueberry plantings in British Columbia, Canada. The plants flower normally, though the young leaves and flowers have a red coloration that is absent in healthy plants. As the leaves mature, the red color disappears. The fruit partially develops to about 3-5 mm in diameter and then aborts, so that affected bushes mature with virtually no fruit. The number of bushes exhibiting the symptoms in a field slowly increases from year to year, suggesting that a pathogen is involved. Approximately 40 attempts were made to extract double-stranded RNA from symptomatic bushes; only one was successful. The dsRNA that was obtained from bushes exhibiting symptoms of berry drop was cloned and partially sequenced. Thus far, approximately 1700 nucleotides of the dsRNA template have been sequenced. Three sets of primers were developed from the sequenced dsRNA for Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR). Total RNA was extracted from leaves of asymptomatic and symptomatic bushes, using the protocol of Hughes and Galau (1), and used as template for detection by RT-PCR. Amplicons were obtained from symptomatic bushes with all three sets of primers, but not from asymptomatic bushes. Further testing must be done to confirm that the dsRNA obtained from symptomatic bushes resulted from a plant virus infection. At this time, there is no homology to any plant virus sequence in the databases, but there is some homology to fungal and animal viruses. The possibility of a systemic fungal infection causing the fruit drop symptom can not be ruled out at this time and could explain the relationship between the dsRNA isolated from symptomatic bushes and fungal viruses.