Prevalence of Virus Infections and GLRaV-3 Genetic Diversity in Selected Clones of Croatian Indigenous Grapevine Cultivar Plavac Mali.

Mate Čarija,Martin Jagunić,Tomislav Radić,Silvija Černi,Katarina Hančević,Goran Zdunić,Ana Mucalo,Darko Vončina

doi:10.3390/pathogens11020176

Abstract

The cultivar Plavac Mali (Vitis vinifera L.), the most important indigenous red grapevine cultivar in Croatia, was tested for the presence of 16 grapevine viruses. Thirty-five samples from the collection vineyard were tested for the presence of grapevine leafroll-associated viruses-1, -2, and -3 (GLRaV-1, GLRaV-2 and GLRaV-3, respectively), grapevine fanleaf virus (GFLV), arabis mosaic virus (ArMV), grapevine virus-A (GVA), -B (GVB), -G (GVG), -H (GVH), -I (GVI), -J (GVJ), grapevine fleck virus (GFkV), grapevine rupestris stem pitting associated virus (GRSPaV), and grapevine pinot gris virus (GPGV) by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Furthermore, standard PCR was conducted for grapevine badnavirus 1 (GBV-1) and grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV). Mixed infections were most common and GLRaV-3, the most abundant virus found in 85.71% of the vines tested, was further molecularly characterised. Different genomic variants of the heat shock protein homologue (HSP70h) were separated by cloning, detected by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, sequenced, and phylogenetically analysed. The presence of phylogenetic groups I and II was only confirmed. This study demonstrates the high virus infection rate of Plavac Mali vines and the heterogeneity of GLRaV-3 present nowadays in a collection vineyard.

Highlights

Plavac Mali (Vitis vinifera L.) is the most important Croatian grapevine cultivar used for red wine production and the second rated cultivar in terms of acreages represented [1]
The wine produced from Plavac Mali is distinguished by higher antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and catechin concentrations compared with wines from some other native and introduced grapevine cultivars in this region [8]
ResMulotslecular detection using primers specific for 16 grapevine viruses confirmed that neithMeroloencuelaorfd3e5teacntiaolnysuesdingplparnimtseorsf sCpreocaiftiicafnorin1d6 iggreanpoevuisnecuvlirtiuvsaesr cPolnafviramc eMd athliawt as virus-free

Summary

Introduction

Plavac Mali (Vitis vinifera L.) is the most important Croatian grapevine cultivar used for red wine production and the second rated cultivar in terms of acreages represented [1]. It is mostly grown throughout the central and southern Adriatic coast area. The wine produced from Plavac Mali is distinguished by higher antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, and catechin concentrations compared with wines from some other native and introduced grapevine cultivars in this region [8]. It is highly appreciated for viticultural practice due to its high drought tolerance and resistance to various pathogens [10]

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Conclusion