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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #192017
Title: STRAWBERRY CHLOROTIC FLECK DISEASE MAY BE CAUSED BY A NOVEL CLOSTEROVIRUS

Author
item TZANETAKIS, I - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item Martin, Robert

Submitted to: Acta Horticulturae
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/8/2006
Publication Date: 5/1/2006
Citation: Tzanetakis, I.E., Martin, R.R. 2006. Strawberry chlorotic fleck disease may be caused by a novel closterovirus. Acta Horticulturae.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Chlorotic fleck (CF) is a graft-transmissible disease identified almost 50 years ago. The disease agent can cause significant losses in strawberry and is known to be transmitted by the cotton aphid, an indication of the viral etiology of the disease. While CF was a major disease in the area first identified (Louisiana, U.S.A.), no further steps were taken towards identification of the causal agent, probably because of the mild and inconsistent symptoms the agent caused on indicator plants. The strawberry decline observed in the western coast of North America during the last four years led us to investigate the possibility that novel agents, including CF, may be involved in the symptomatology. The only CF plant known to exist in the U.S.A. is maintained at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Corvallis, Oregon and was used to isolate the CF agent. Cloning and sequence analysis from dsRNA isolated from the CF plant verified the presence of three viruses: two criniviruses associated with pallidosis disease (Strawberry pallidosis associated virus and Beet pseudo yellows virus) and a previously unidentified member of the same family. Phylogenetic analysis placed the virus in the Closterovirus genus, the aphid-borne closteroviruses. The majority of the genome has been obtained, and similar to the newly identified raspberry closterovirus, Raspberry mottle associated virus, its organization is a combination of that of Citrus tristeza virus and Beet yellows virus genomes. Detection protocols developed have verified the presence of the virus in the U.S.A., and experiments are currently underway to determine if any of the major strawberry aphids are vectors of the virus.