European Journal of Plant Pathology (2009) 124, 701-706

Silvija Cerni, Dijana Skoric, Jelena Ruscic, Mladen Krajacic, Tatjana Papic, Khaled Djelouah and Gustavo Nolasco (2009)
East Adriatic-a reservoir region of severe Citrus tristeza virus strains
European Journal of Plant Pathology 124 (4), 701-706
Abstract: Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) represents one of the major threats to citrus production worldwide. In the East Adriatic region, CTV symptoms are mostly absent due to traditional citrus grafting on trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata), a CTV-tolerant rootstock. Therefore, the virus has been continuously spreading by the propagation of infected material. The genetic variability of CTV was studied on nineteen citrus samples, collected from orchards in the coastal region of Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, that previously tested positive by ELISA and immunocapture RT-PCR. Single-strand conformation polymorphism of the amplified coat protein gene demonstrated the presence of different CTV variants in each amplicon, while sequence analysis of cloned CP gene variants confirmed their clustering into six out of the seven phylogenetic groups so far delineated. Four of these groups include sequences of severe quick decline, seedling yellows and stem-pitting (SP) isolates, thought to be found only rarely in the Mediterranean region. Regardless of the lack of symptoms in the field, CTV isolates from the East Adriatic displayed high genetic variability and pathogenic potential, additionally confirmed by biological characterisation. The high percentage of mixed infections suggest the potential for further diversification and a greater risk of severe variants spreading into new areas.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Silvija Cerni, Dijana Skoric, Gustavo Nolasco

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Citrus tristeza virus	Citrus (genus)	Albania
	Citrus tristeza virus	Citrus (genus)	Croatia
	Citrus tristeza virus	Citrus (genus)	Montenegro