Articles
Studies of the virome of cultivated blueberries in Germany identify two frequently occurring viruses, a mitovirus, and a luteovirus
Article number
1440_19
Pages
137 – 142
Language
English
Abstract
Blueberry is a high-value crop in Germany whose economic importance has increased considerably in recent years.
Starting in the 2015 season, irregularities in the yield were detected in individual blueberry plants in several plantations in northern Germany.
Varietal atypical behaviour was observed mainly in the important cultivar ‘Duke’, but also in other cultivars such as ‘Draper’ and ‘Liberty’. About 20 viruses have been reported infecting blueberry and most were originally found in North America.
Little is known about the occurrence of blueberry viruses in Europe, and almost nothing from Germany.
Several possible causes of off-types are now being investigated in a joint project and the virome of the blueberry in Germany is assessed in order to identify possible correlations with the off-types.
The first Illumina HTS examinations of cultivated blueberries have detected two widespread viruses that were recently identified for the first time in the USA, the mitovirus blueberry mitovirus 1, and the luteovirus, blueberry virus L (BlVL). While mitoviruses are not considered to cause plant diseases, the luteoviruses, which are transmitted by aphids, can certainly lead to symptoms, but no correlation has yet been established between the off-types and the identified viruses.
Furthermore, the BlVL could be detected in seedlings, which indicates a natural transmission and thus the presence of the required vector in Germany.
Starting in the 2015 season, irregularities in the yield were detected in individual blueberry plants in several plantations in northern Germany.
Varietal atypical behaviour was observed mainly in the important cultivar ‘Duke’, but also in other cultivars such as ‘Draper’ and ‘Liberty’. About 20 viruses have been reported infecting blueberry and most were originally found in North America.
Little is known about the occurrence of blueberry viruses in Europe, and almost nothing from Germany.
Several possible causes of off-types are now being investigated in a joint project and the virome of the blueberry in Germany is assessed in order to identify possible correlations with the off-types.
The first Illumina HTS examinations of cultivated blueberries have detected two widespread viruses that were recently identified for the first time in the USA, the mitovirus blueberry mitovirus 1, and the luteovirus, blueberry virus L (BlVL). While mitoviruses are not considered to cause plant diseases, the luteoviruses, which are transmitted by aphids, can certainly lead to symptoms, but no correlation has yet been established between the off-types and the identified viruses.
Furthermore, the BlVL could be detected in seedlings, which indicates a natural transmission and thus the presence of the required vector in Germany.
Publication
Authors
W. Menzel, D. Knierim, P. Margaria, S. Winter
Keywords
Vaccinium, BlVL, transmission, high-throughput sequencing, HTS, off-type
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