Abstract
The distribution of viruses in eastern Australian field garlic was evaluated. Detection assays were developed that involved generic RT-PCR for viruses in the Allexivirus, Carlavirus and Potyvirus genera followed by virus-specific colorimetric dot-blot hybridization. Assays targeted the potyviruses (onion yellow dwarf virus (OYDV), shallot yellow stripe virus (SYSV), and leek yellow stripe virus (LYSV)), the carlaviruses (garlic common latent virus (GCLV) and shallot latent virus (SLV)), and the allexiviruses (garlic viruses A, B, C, X (GarVA, -B, -C, -X) and shallot virus X (ShVX)). Virus incidence in crops was consistently high, with most plants infected with at least one virus from each genus. OYDV, LYSV, SLV, and GCLV were commonly detected. Three of the four allexiviruses were in all districts surveyed but varied in incidence, whereas ShVX and SYSV were not detected. There was no association between virus species complement and bulb size, indicating size is not a good predictor of the virus status of planting material. The variation of virus incidence across different Australian growing districts and in different cultivars implies multiple introductions of viruses rather than spread within the country. The genetic diversity observed within coat protein sequences of some virus species also supports multiple separate introductions.
Highlights
Garlic (Allium sativum, is a member of the Amaryllidaceae plant family and is a close relative of onion (A. cepa), shallot (A. cepa var. aggregatum), leek (A. ampeloprasum), and chive (A. shoenoprasum)
This study presents the first comprehensive virus survey of Australian g Surveying of a range of garlic cultivars from plantings across four Australia sured a widespread assessment of the virus status of crops comprising a ran
Molecular testing showed that Australian field-grown garlic cultivars are chronically infected with a complex of viruses, with more than 90% of plants infected with viruses from one or more species from each of the three genera tested
Summary
Garlic (Allium sativum, is a member of the Amaryllidaceae plant family and is a close relative of onion (A. cepa), shallot (A. cepa var. aggregatum), leek (A. ampeloprasum), and chive (A. shoenoprasum). Garlic (Allium sativum, is a member of the Amaryllidaceae plant family and is a close relative of onion (A. cepa), shallot Aggregatum), leek (A. ampeloprasum), and chive (A. shoenoprasum). Garlic is cultivated through vegetative propagation and is both day-length and temperature sensitive. Garlic planting windows and seasons vary considerably around Australia, and a wide range of cultivars are grown. Cultivars are often locally adapted based on performance under specific day-length and temperature conditions. Australia imports around 10,000 tonnes of garlic per year, mostly sourced from China, but with increasing amounts sourced from Spain, Argentina, Mexico, and the USA. The local production of garlic in Australia is about 500 tonnes per annum, spread across different climatic zones from subtropical south-east Queensland to temperate Victoria and South Australia [1]
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