Incidence of potato viruses and characterisation of Potato virus Y variability in late season planted potato crops in Northern Tunisia

Abstract

Surveys were conducted of symptomatic potato plants in late season crops, from the major potato production regions in Northern Tunisia, for infection with six common potato viruses. The presence of Potato leafroll virus (PLRV), Potato virus Y (PVY), Potato virus X (PVX), Potato virus A (PVA), Potato virus S (PVS) and Potato virus M (PVM) was confirmed serologically with virus infection levels up to 5.4, 90.2, 4.3, 3.8, 7.1 and 4.8%, respectively. As PVY was prevalent in all seven surveyed regions, further biological, serological and molecular typing of 32 PVY isolates was undertaken. Only one isolate was shown to induce PVYO-type symptoms following transmission to tobacco and to react only against anti-PVYO-C antibodies. Typical vein necrosis symptoms were obtained from 31 samples, six of which reacted against both anti-PVYN and anti-PVYO-C antibodies showing they contained mixed isolates, while 25 of them reacted only with anti-PVYN antibodies. An immunocapture RT-PCR molecular test using a PVYNTN specific primer pair set in the 5’NTR/P1 genomic region and examination of recombinant points in three genomic regions (HC-Pro/P3, CI/NIa and CP/3’NTR) showed that all 25 serotype-N PVY isolates were PVYNTN variants with similar recombinations to the standard PVYNTN-H isolate. This is the first report of the occurrence of the PVYNTN variant and its high incidence in late season potatoes in Tunisia.