Distribution and Diversity of Prunus Necrotic Ringspot Virus, Prune Dwarf Virus, and Peach Latent Mosaic Viroid in Wild Prunus spp. in South Carolina and Georgia

Abstract

Prunus-infecting ilarviruses and viroids are important pathogens in southeastern U.S. peach production. To identify potential sources of inoculum, we conducted a survey for two ilarviruses, Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) and prune dwarf virus (PDV), and a viroid, peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd), all suggested to be pollen transmissible, in wild Prunus spp . in South Carolina and Georgia. PNRSV was detected in 12% (14/117) of wild Prunus spp., mostly in wild black cherry ( Prunus serotina), with one PNRSV isolate detected in Carolina cherry laurel ( P. caroliniana). PDV and PLMVd were not detected in wild Prunus spp. in this survey. No significant relationship was observed between virus/viroid infection and tree age in P. serotina. Sequence analysis of the gene encoding the PNRSV coat protein from isolates recovered from wild Prunus spp. revealed clustering of South Carolina and Georgia isolates with reference isolate ‘PE5’, an isolate obtained from peach ( P. persica) in the United States. Together,  these results suggest that wild Prunus spp. have the potential to serve as inoculum sources for pollen transmissible viruses near orchards. However, the extent of actual virus ingress into orchards from wild Prunus spp. requires further investigation. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license .