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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Crops Pathology and Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #143055
Title: MOLECULAR DETECTION OF A CLOSTEROVIRUS ASSOCIATED WITH APRICOT STEM PITTING IN SOUTHERN ITALY

Author
item GHANEM-SABANADZOVIC, N. ABOU
item MAHBOUBI, M.
item TERLIZZI, B. DI
item SABANADZOVIC, S.
item SAVINO, V.
item Uyemoto, Jerry
item MARTELLI, G.

Submitted to: Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/7/2001
Publication Date: 5/7/2001
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Electrophoretic analysis of cortical and leaf tissue extracts from apricot trees of cv. 'Tyrinthos' from Apulia (southern Italy) affected by stem pitting, contained multiple double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) species, the largest with an estimated size of 15 kbp. A segment of 590 nucleotides, showing sequence homology with the HSP70 homoloque gene of members of the family Closterovirdae was amplified by RT-PCR from symptomatic trees using degenerated primers designed on the conserved phosphate 1 and 2 motifs of the HSP70 gene sequence. Computer-assisted analyis showed that the 590 nt fragment from Italian apricot trees had 97% sequence homology with Plum bark necrosis stem pitting-associated virus (PBNSPaV), a recently reported closterovirus infecting Black Beaut plum (Prunus salicina) in California. A set of primers that amplified a 290 nt virus-specific fragment was designed and a cRNA probe was generated. This riboprobe and RT-PCR assays with these primers detected PBNSPaV in diseased but not in healthy apricot trees.