Abstract
To shed light on trends about elimination of viruses from plants, a bibliographic research was conducted to identify thermotherapy, chemotherapy and tissue culture trials published from 1991 through 2010. Among woody plants, grapevine, apple and peach are the most frequent targets of sanitation protocols because their health status is strictly regulated. Even if thermotherapy represents the preferred method for the host, grapevine viruses can also be eliminated with chemotherapy and tissue culture; apple viruses respond to chemotherapy as well. Although a similar trend was reported among herbaceous plants, chemotherapy was the most frequently used technique in potato. With regard to virus, thermotherapy was successfully applied against viruses belonging to 13 families and an unassigned genus. Instead, chemotherapy and tissue culture techniques eradicated viruses belonging to fewer families (nine). An interpretation of thermotherapy effects considers the new metabolic “pathways” triggered by the natural antiviral response emitted by the infected plant, with particular reference to virus-induced gene silencing. With regard to chemotherapy, several groups of antiviral drugs belong to inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase inhibitors, S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase inhibitors, neuraminidase inhibitors. Tissue culture, usually adopted to regenerate plantlets in biotechnological breeding programs, represents the less used tool for eliminate viruses from plants.
Highlights
Looking at plant health from a holistic perspective, it is obvious that planting material must meet high sanitary standards, with regard to viral infections
The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive and systematic survey of the literature pertaining to plant sanitation-related research issues in order to ascertain the current “state of the art” of thermotherapy, chemotherapy and tissue culture techniques
Developments over the last 20 years in research aimed at investigating the metabolic processes involved in defense mechanisms of plants have suggested an interpretation of the heat treatment effects according to new metabolic “pathways” triggered by the natural antiviral response produced by the infected plant, with particular reference to Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) induced by the presence of viral RNA in infected plants (Ruitz et al, 1998)
Summary
Looking at plant health from a holistic perspective, it is obvious that planting material must meet high sanitary standards, with regard to viral infections. The different ability for movement of viral particles in plant tissues influenced the choice of elimination treatment, with thermotherapy as the most effective against viruses characterized by parenchymatic localization, compared to meristem culture technique which is more suitable for phloematic viruses that are limited to vascular tissues and rarely found in parts of the plant where differentiated tissues are absent (Grout, 1990). Developments over the last 20 years in research aimed at investigating the metabolic processes involved in defense mechanisms of plants have suggested an interpretation of the heat treatment effects according to new metabolic “pathways” triggered by the natural antiviral response produced by the infected plant, with particular reference to Virus-Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) induced by the presence of viral RNA in infected plants (Ruitz et al, 1998). Increased heat stress induces an increase in the host defense system’s capacity by creating a barrier to infection. Chellapan et al (2005) continued investigations to better define the mechanisms that determine the influence of temperature on the antiviral silencing, for Geminivirus (ssDNA), by applying heat treatment (25-30°C) to cassava (Manihot esculenta) and tobacco
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