Plant Pathology (2009) 58, 763-772

M. Ben Khalifa, V. Simon, M. Marrakchi, H. Fakhfakh and B. Moury (2009)
Contribution of host plant resistance and geographic distance to the structure of Potato virus Y (PVY) populations in pepper in northern Tunisia
Plant Pathology 58 (4), 763-772
Abstract: The genetic structure of Potato virus Y (PVY) populations was investigated in naturally-infected pepper (Capsicum annuum) fields, collected at eight different localities in northern Tunisia, where 23% of the sampled plants were homozygous for the pvr2¹ recessive resistance allele, while the other plants carried the dominant susceptibility allele pvr2⁺. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis at three PVY genome segments revealed a high level of viral diversity, with a majority of cases showing co-infection of individual plants by several PVY haplotypes and a strong genetic differentiation of viral populations collected in the different localities. Geographic distances affected the differentiation of PVY populations and isolation by distance among these populations was significant. However, the occurrence of the pvr2¹ resistance allele did not contribute to the structure of viral populations, suggesting that the virulence properties of the virus did not significantly affect its fitness. Consequently, greater deployment of the pvr2¹ gene would probably not be a suitable strategy to control PVY, and other resistance genes should be preferred.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Mekki Ben Khalifa, Benoît Moury

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Potato virus Y	Green pepper/chilli (Capsicum)	Tunisia