Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #224941

Title: First Report of Impatiens necrotic spot virus in Blackberry in the United States

Author
item TZANETAKIS, I - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item GUZMAN-BAENY, T - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
item VANESBROECK, Z - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
item FERNANDEZ, G - NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIV
item Martin, Robert

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/27/2008
Publication Date: 4/1/2009
Citation: Tzanetakis, I.E., Guzman-Baeny, T.L., Vanesbroeck, Z.P., Fernandez, G.E., Martin, R.R. 2009. First report of Impatiens necrotic spot virus in blackberry in the United States. Plant Disease. 432.

Interpretive Summary: Blackberry yellow vein disease (BYVD) has emerged in the last six years in the south and southeastern United States and can be devastating. It is caused by the synergistic effect of several viruses, with Blackberry yellow vein associated virus being a consistent component of the disease wherever it has been observed. However, Blackberry yellow vein associated virus in single infections is symptomless in blackberry and there is always at least one and in some cases four additional viruses present in symptomatic plants. In an effort to further characterize these other viruses, double-stranded RNA was extracted and cloned from a symptomatic 'Apache' blackberry plant from South Carolina. After cloning, sequencing and sequence analysis three additional viruses were detected in this plant. One of these viruses was Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV). The 623 bases obtained for the blackberry isolate showed 98% sequence identity to the GenBank INSV accession NC003616. In addition, approximately 33% of more than 400 blackberry plants tested from Virginia and North and South Carolina that showed BYVD symptoms tested positive for INSV by ELISA. This is the first confirmed report of INSV infecting Rubus. INSV is not always associated with BYVD but may act synergistically with other viruses to increase the severity of the disease.

Technical Abstract: Blackberry yellow vein disease (BYVD) has emerged in the last six years in the south and southeastern United States and can be devastating. It is caused by the synergistic effect of several viruses, with Blackberry yellow vein associated virus being a consistent component of the disorder. In an effort to further characterize Blackberry virus X, one of the viruses found in diseased plants, double-stranded RNA extracted from an ‘Apache’ blackberry from South Carolina was used for shotgun cloning. Sequences were obtained for four viruses: Blackberry yellow vein associated virus, Blackberry virus X, Blackberry virus Z and Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV). The 623 bases fragment of INSV (Genbank accession No EU287930) shared 98% nucleotide and amino acid sequence identity to GenBank accession NC003616. In order to confirm the results of the shotgun cloning primers INSVF (5’ GATCTGTCCTGGGATTGTTC 3’) and INSVR (5’ GTCTCCTTCTGGTTCTATAATCAT3’) that amplify a 460 base fragment of the mRNA of the virus were prepared. Amplicons obtained from both ss and dsRNA templates were sequenced and found identical to EU287930. In addition, more than 400 plants from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina with BYVD and other virus-like symptoms were tested by ELISA (Agdia Inc.) for INSV and about 33% were found infected with the virus. This is the first confirmed report of INSV infecting Rubus. INSV is not always associated with BYVD but may act synergistically with other viruses to increase the severity of the disease.