First Report of Plum pox virus (Sharka Disease) in Prunus persica in the United States

Abstract

Plum pox (Sharka) is the most important virus disease of Prunus in Europe and the Mediterranean region and is caused by Plum pox potyvirus (PPV). In September 1999, PPV-like symptoms were observed in peach fruit culls in a packinghouse in Pennsylvania. All symptomatic fruit originated from a single block of peach (P. persica cv. Encore) in Adams County. Trees in the block exhibited ring pattern symptoms on their leaves. A potyvirus was detected in symptomatic fruit using the Poty-Group enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test from Agdia (Elkhart, IN). Reactions for symptomatic peach fruit and leaves also were positive using triple-antibody sandwich ELISA with the PPV polyclonal antibody from Bioreba (Carrboro, NC) for coating, the Poty-Group monoclonal antibody (MAb; Agdia) as the intermediate antibody, and double-antibody sandwich ELISA with PPV detection kits from Sanofi (Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, Marnes-La-Coquette, France) and Agdia and the REAL PPV kit (Durviz, Valencia, Spain) containing universal (5B) and strain typing (4DG5 and AL) PPV MAbs (1). PPV also was identified by immunocapture-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) amplification and subsequent sequencing of the 220-bp 3′ noncoding region (2) (>99% sequence homology to PPV) and by IC-RT-PCR amplification of a 243-bp product in the coat protein (CP) gene (1). The virus was identified as PPV strain D based on serological typing with strainspecific MAbs and on PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism of the CP IC-RT-PCR product with Rsa1 and Alu1 (1). This is the first report of PPV in North America. References: (1) T. Candresse et al. Phytopathology 88:198, 1998. (2) L. Levy and A. Hadidi. EPPO Bull. 24:595, 1994.

Plant Pathogen Forensics: Capabilities, Needs, and Recommendations

“…For example, an outbreak of citrus canker in Florida was first diagnosed in 1995 (164), but the causal bacterium was probably introduced 2 years prior to its detection. Similarly, Plum pox virus (PPV) was first detected in Pennsylvania in 1999 (99) but is now thought to have been introduced as much as 6 to 8 years earlier. Many of our valuable crop and forest species, bred for consistent quality and high yield, are planted as monocultures.…”

Prunus domestica 'Jojo' – Good Parent for Breeding of New Plum Cultivars Resistant to Plum pox Virus

“…It is estimated that over the past 30 years, the losses caused by sharka worldwide can exceed 10 billion euros (Cambra, Capote, Myrta, & Llácer, 2006). Plum pox virus isolates belonging to strain D were also detected in US (Levy et al, 2000) and Canada (Thompson et al, 2001). Eradication efforts in Canada were only partially effective, and additionally isolates of two other strains were identified: PPV-W (James & Varga, 2005) and PPV-Rec (Thompson et al, 2009).…”

Investigation on the incidence of Plum pox virus in fruit nurseries of the Czech Republic

“…It has also been found by the end of the 20 th century in South America -Chile (Acuňa 1993), Argentina (Dal Zotto et al 2006), and in North America -USA (Levy et al 2000), Canada (Thompson et al 2001). The presence of PPV was proved around the Mediterranean basin in North Africa and Near and Middle East Asia (Dunéz 1987;Roy & Smith 1994).…”