Abstract
Every year, Agroscope examines nearly 300,000 tubers for the presence of viruses, as regulated for the certification of seed potatoes intended for Swiss growers. Since 2016, this examination has been performed via RT-qPCR on dormant tubers directly after harvest. This method offers fast results and eliminates the need for the use of Rindite, which is a toxic and polluting gaseous compound previously used in Switzerland to break the dormancy of seed tubers. The implementation of this molecular analytical method for the routine diagnosis of regulated viruses makes it possible to conduct additional analyses via Illumina sequencing to assess the conformity of the primers and probes used with the sequences of the different viral isolates. This form of quality control in routine diagnosis is a source of information that can answer more fundamental scientific questions related to the epidemiology of viral strains related to certification. The datasets produced in this framework can also be used to explore the diversity of rare or unknown virus species in potato crops.
Highlights
Several viral diseases present in all production areas of the world severely affect the yield and quality of potato production (Valkonen 2007)
Because potato virus Y (PVY) is a so-called non-persistent virus that aphids can acquire from a diseased plant in seconds and immediately transmit to neighbouring plants, the use of insecticides is ineffective because the aphid is able to transmit the virus before it is affected by the product (Perring et al 1999)
Based on the inoculation of indicator plants with the sap of the tuber to be tested, the labour-intensive method used when setting up the certification was replaced in 1984 by ELISA which was used to detect PVY and potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) in seed potatoes until 2016 (Gugerli and Gehriger 1980)
Summary
Several viral diseases present in all production areas of the world severely affect the yield and quality of potato production (Valkonen 2007). In Switzerland, the most damaging viruses for potato production are potato virus Y (PVY) and, to a lesser extent, potato leaf roll virus (PLRV) (Steinger et al 2014) Both of these viruses are regulated and must not exceed an infection rate of 10% in tubers marketed as seed potatoes. The first method involves manipulation of a toxic gas but allows direct ELISA analysis of the tubers, and the second method is performed on the leaves of young plants and requires a large amount of manpower as well as large greenhouse areas in which to grow the plants In both cases, activation of viral multiplication is a lengthy process that delays the delivery of results by 4 to 8 weeks
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