THREE-YEAR RISK ASSESSMENT OF THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF CROSS-PROTECTION IN PROCESSING TOMATO FIELDS USING AN ATTENUATED CUCUMBER MOSAIC VIRUS (CMV) STRAIN CONTAINING AN AMELIORATIVE SATELLITE RNA

Since 1995 we have used preinoculation (the term vaccination is used below) of tomato seedlings with a mild satellite RNA (satRNA)-containing CMV strain KO3 on a practical scale to protect processing tomato fields against virulent CMV. Although no incidents or damage have occurred from this practice thus far, in the past 3 years we have carried out risk assessment studies by systematically comparing vaccinated and non-vaccinated tomato fields.
During the 3-year period non-vaccinated fields consistently had higher ratios of virus-infected plants with more severe symptomatology than did the vaccinated fields.
In 1999 CMV samples from non-vaccinated fields contained two sizes of satRNAs: 30% of the samples contained the 390nt and 18% the 340nt length class of CMV satRNA, while 5% had a mixture of the two classes.
The remaining samples (47%) contained no satRNA. All CMV samples from vaccinated fields contained only one 390nt satRNA, which we believe to have been derived from the 391nt satRNA of CMV-KO3. In 1997 we detected no satRNA in samples from 285 overwintered weed plants representing 7 different species.
Collectively the data show no clear adverse risk in association with satellite-mediated cross-protection technology.

VII International Symposium on the Processing Tomato

H. Sayama, M. Kominato, M. Ubukata, T. Sato

Vaccination, preinoculation, biological control, Cucumovirus, Lycopersicon esculentum, mild strain, Japan

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.542.3