Articles
Thermotherapy: an efficient tool for pathogens elimination in apricot
Article number
1454_14
Pages
103 – 106
Language
English
Abstract
Pathogen-free apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) production plays an important role in managing viral diseases, conserving plant germplasm, and enabling the safe exchange of breeding materials without the possibility of introducing new pathogens.
Among the major threats to the Prunus genus, Plum pox virus (PPV) is the most harmful disease.
Moreover, Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) is widely distributed in many apricot-growing regions.
In this study, the efficiency of thermotherapy, etiolation, and their combination, followed by meristem culture for eliminating PPV and HSVd from ‘Canino’ and ‘Mirlo Rojo’ apricot cultivars under in vitro conditions has been established.
In the thermotherapy experiments, shoots were first acclimated to heat exposing them to 28°C for one day and 30°C for two days.
Following heat acclimation, they were subjected to alternating temperatures of 38 and 32°C every 4 h for periods of 30, 35, 40, and 45 days.
For the etiolation treatments, shoots were grown in complete darkness for eight weeks.
A combined treatment was also tested, consisting of 45 days of thermotherapy in dark conditions.
After this treatment, meristem culture was performed in order to obtain pathogen-free lines.
Pathogen presence was evaluated using RT-PCR. The results demonstrated that PPV-free plants were produced from all treatments with the highest percentage achieved after 45 days of thermotherapy or the combined treatment of thermotherapy and etiolation.
For HSVd, at least 40 days of thermotherapy were required to eliminate the pathogen, with the best results obtained after 45 days.
Notably, this study represents the first successful application of a thermotherapy protocol to eradicate HSVd in Prunus species.
Among the major threats to the Prunus genus, Plum pox virus (PPV) is the most harmful disease.
Moreover, Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) is widely distributed in many apricot-growing regions.
In this study, the efficiency of thermotherapy, etiolation, and their combination, followed by meristem culture for eliminating PPV and HSVd from ‘Canino’ and ‘Mirlo Rojo’ apricot cultivars under in vitro conditions has been established.
In the thermotherapy experiments, shoots were first acclimated to heat exposing them to 28°C for one day and 30°C for two days.
Following heat acclimation, they were subjected to alternating temperatures of 38 and 32°C every 4 h for periods of 30, 35, 40, and 45 days.
For the etiolation treatments, shoots were grown in complete darkness for eight weeks.
A combined treatment was also tested, consisting of 45 days of thermotherapy in dark conditions.
After this treatment, meristem culture was performed in order to obtain pathogen-free lines.
Pathogen presence was evaluated using RT-PCR. The results demonstrated that PPV-free plants were produced from all treatments with the highest percentage achieved after 45 days of thermotherapy or the combined treatment of thermotherapy and etiolation.
For HSVd, at least 40 days of thermotherapy were required to eliminate the pathogen, with the best results obtained after 45 days.
Notably, this study represents the first successful application of a thermotherapy protocol to eradicate HSVd in Prunus species.
Authors
C. Pérez-Caselles, E. Yelo, M. Martín-Valmaseda, F.J. Alfosea-Simón, L. Faize, L. Burgos, N. Alburquerque
Keywords
in vitro, plant virus elimination, dark conditions, Prunus armeniaca
Groups involved
- Division Plant Genetic Resources, Breeding and Biotechnology
- Working Group Genetic Transformation and Gene Editing
- Working Group Horticultural Biotechnology and Breeding
- Division Ornamental Plants
- Division Vegetables, Roots and Tubers
- Division Temperate Tree Fruits
- Division Vine and Berry Fruits
- Division Horticulture for Development
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