Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #238366

Title: A New Member of the Family Reoviridae May Contribute to Severe Crumbly Fruit in Red Raspberry, Rubus idaeus ‘Meeker’

Author
item QUITO, D - Oregon State University
item JELKMANN, W - Julius Kuhn Institute
item ALT, S - Julius Kuhn Institute
item LEIBLE, S - Julius Kuhn Institute
item Martin, Robert

Submitted to: International Conference on Graft Transmissible Diseases of Fruit Crops
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2009
Publication Date: 2/15/2010
Citation: Quito, D., Jelkmann, W., Alt, S., Leible, S., Martin, R.R. 2010. A new member of the family Reoviridae may contribute to severe crumbly fruit in red raspberry, Rubus idaeus ‘Meeker’. International Conference on Graft Transmissible Diseases of Fruit Crops.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A virus-induced crumbly fruit disease of considerable importance in ‘Meeker’ and other cultivars of red raspberry has been observed in northern Washington, United States and British Columbia, Canada. Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV), a pollen-borne virus, has been attributed as the causal agent of the disease. Recent dsRNA extractions from symptomatic plants in northern Washington revealed the presence of additional viruses, as evidenced by more than 12 bands on agarose gels. All the bands, except those corresponding to RBDV (2.2 kb and 5.5 kb) were gel-purified and cloned for sequencing. Thus far, sequencing results showed the presence of at least two viruses in addition to RBDV. One has significant amino acid sequence identity (~40%) to 8 genome segments of Rice ragged stunt virus (RRStV), a ten-RNA-segmented oryzavirus that belongs to the family Reoviridae. The complete sequence for the segments that correspond to RNA S1 S4 and S7 of RRStV has been determined. Partial sequences of segments S2, S3, S5, S9, and S10 are also known and are being used to generate the complete genomes using poly A tailing of the 3’ ends. In addition, Raspberry mottle virus (RMoV), a recently characterized member of the Closteroviridae, was also identified from raspberries with severe crumbly fruit. These findings along with the lack of severe crumbly fruit symptoms in ‘Meeker’ red raspberry singly infected with RBDV in Oregon, suggest the existence of a novel virus complex associated with severe crumbly fruit in red raspberries. The complex may involve RBDV, RMoV and/or this new reovirus. Transmission studies are underway to determine the effect of each of these viruses singly and in all combinations on crumbly fruit symptom development in ‘Meeker’ red raspberry.