Potato Virus YNTN Research Articles

Enhance potato resistance to Potato virus YNTN using curcumin nanoparticles Inhibitory Effects of Curcumin nanoparticles on Potato Plants Infected by Potato Virus Y

Enhance potato resistance to Potato virus YNTN using curcumin nanoparticles Inhibitory Effects of Curcumin nanoparticles on Potato Plants Infected by Potato Virus Y

Glutathione Modulation in PVYNTN Susceptible and Resistant Potato Plant Interactions.

Glutathione is a metabolite that plays an important role in plant response to biotic stress through its ability to remove reactive oxygen species, thereby limiting the degree of potential oxidative damage. It can couple changes in the intracellular redox state to the development, especially the defense responses, of plants. Several studies have focused on measuring glutathione levels in virus infected plants, but have not provided complete information. Therefore, we analyzed, for the first time, the content of glutathione as well as its ultrastructural distribution related to susceptible and hypersensitive potato–Potato virus Y NTN (PVYNTN) interaction, with an aim of providing new insight into interactive responses to PVYNTN stress. Our findings reported that the inoculation of PVYNTN caused a dynamic increase in the content of glutathione, not only in resistance but also in susceptible reaction, especially at the first steps of plant–virus interaction. Moreover, the increase in hypersensitive response was much more dynamic, and accompanied by a significant reduction in the content of PVYNTN. By contrast, in susceptible potato Irys, the content of glutathione decreased between 7 and 21 days after virus inoculation, which led to a significant increase in PVYNTN concentration. Additionally, our findings clearly indicated the steady induction of two selected potato glutathione S-transferase StGSTF1 and StGSTF2 genes after PVYNTN inoculation, regardless of the interaction type. However, the relative expression level of StGSTF1 did not significantly differ between resistant and susceptible plants, whereas the relative expression levels of StGSTF2 differed between susceptible and resistant reactions. Therefore, we proposed that StGSTF2 can act as a marker of the type of response to PVYNTN. Our observations indicated that glutathione is an important component of signaling as well as the regulatory network in the PVYNTN–potato pathosystem. In resistance responses to PVYNTN, this metabolite activates plant defenses by reducing potential damage to the host plant cell, causing a reduction in virus concentration, while it can also be involved in the development of PVYNTN elicited symptoms, as well as limiting oxidative stress, leading to systemic infection in susceptible potato plants.

Small RNA profiling analysis of two recombinant strains of potato virus Y in infected tobacco plants

Plant viral infections lead to accumulation of virus-derived small interfering RNAs (vsiRNAs) as a result of host defense mechanisms. High-throughput sequencing technology enables vsiRNA profiling analyses from virus infected plants, which provide important insights into virus-host interactions. Potato virus Y (PVY) is a detrimental plant pathogen that can infect a variety of solanaceous crops, e.g., potato, tobacco, tomato, and pepper. We analyzed and characterized vsiRNAs derived from Nicotiana tabacum cv. Samsun infected with two recombinant PVY strains, N-Wi and NTN. We observed that the average percentage of vsiRNAs derived from plants infected with N-Wi was higher than from plants infected with NTN, indicating that N-Wi invokes a stronger host response than NTN in tobacco. The size distribution pattern and polarity of vsiRNAs were similar between both virus strains with the 21 and 22 nucleotide (nt) vsiRNA classes as most predominant and the sense/antisense vsiRNAs ratio nearly equal in the 20−24 nt class. However, the percentage of sense vsiRNAs was significantly higher in the 25−26 nt long vsiRNAs. Distinct vsiRNA hotspots, identifying highly abundant reads of different unique vsiRNA sequences, were observed in both viral genomes. Previous studies found an A or U bias at the 5′ terminal nucleotide position of 21 nt vsiRNAs; in contrast, our analysis revealed a C and U nucleotide bias. This study provides insights that will help further elucidate differential processing of vsiRNAs in plant antiviral defense.

Complete genome characterization and population dynamics of potato virus Y-NTN strain from India.

Potato virus Y (PVY) is a major threat to potato cultivation worldwide. PVY exists as biologically and genetically distinct strains and causes varying degrees of pathogenicity and a wide range of symptoms in potato. Knowledge of the nature of PVY strains is essential for breeding PVY resistant cultivars that are durable against a wide range of strains. We report the complete genome of a PVY potato isolate (JK12) characterised from the potato production areas of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Nucleotide sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis with known PVY strains revealed that the isolate belongs to the NTN strain of PVY. At the whole genome sequence level, the JK12 isolate shared the highest identity (99.42%) with PVY-NTN strains reported from Germany, followed by those from United Kingdom (99.34%) and Japan (99.33%). Recombination detection analysis identified two recombination break points and JK12 appeared to have originated from a recombination event between a PVY-N strain from Belgium as a major parent and a PVY-O strain from China as the minor parent. Our results suggest possible mutation and recombination could be the basis for the evolution and the subsequent establishment of NTN in this region. Furthermore, a global evolutionary lineage analysis of all the known PVY strains showed relatively low nucleotide diversity among the PVY-NTN strains. Neutrality tests showed that all the genotypes of PVY are undergoing purifying selection suggesting population expansion of PVY. This is the first report of complete genomic characterization of an NTN strain of PVY isolated from commercial potato fields in India. The implications of the emergence of this strain in the Indian context are discussed.

The Titre of the Virus in the Inoculum Affects the Titre of the Viral RNA in the Host Plant and the Occurrence of the Disease Symptoms

Potato virus Y (PVY) is the most economically important potato virus, therefore extensive research is focusing on elucidation of its interaction with the host. To obtain repeatable results, strict standardization of research methods is crucial. Mechanical inoculation by rubbing sap from a PVY infected plant onto the leaf surface together with a fine abrasive powder is the most convenient way of experimental transmission of PVY to host plants. However, factors determining reproducibility of this process need to be determined. In the present study, it was shown that higher titre of the virus in the inoculum resulted in faster increase of PVYNTN RNA titre in the inoculated leaves, as well as in faster translocation of PVYNTN from inoculated leaves into upper non-inoculated leaves. The final titre of PVYNTN RNA in upper non-inoculated leaves was independent of the virus titre in the inoculum. In addition, the occurrence of the disease symptoms was followed and the dependence to the titre of the virus in the inoculum was observed.

Tobacco susceptibility to Potato virus YNTN infection is affected by grafting and endogenous cytokinin content

Faster or stronger response to pathogen occurs if plants undergo prior priming. Cytokinins seem to be also involved in plant priming and in response to pathogens. Susceptibility to Potato virus YNTN (PVYNTN) was studied in transgenic cytokinin overproducing (Pssu-ipt) tobacco and compared with nontransgenic plants. Since cytokinin overproduction inhibits development of plant roots and grafting overcomes this limitation, both types were grown as rooted and/or grafted plants to check also the effect of grafting. Control rooted tobacco (C), the most susceptible to PVYNTN, showed always symptoms during the infection together with the rising virus content and a systemic response, such as accumulation of H2O2, salicylic acid (SA) and other phenolic acids, and stress-induced enzyme activities. In transgenic and grafted plants, the response to PVYNTN was dependent on protective mechanisms activated prior to the inoculation. In Pssu-ipt tobacco, cytokinin active forms and SA contents exceeded manifold their content in C. Grafting promoted the accumulation of phenolics, but SA, and stimulated peroxidase activities. Thus, the pre-infection barrier established in both transgenic and grafted plants helped to suppress partly the virus multiplication and resulted in milder symptom development. However, only the synergic effect of both grafting and the high cytokinins led to PVYNTN tolerance in transgenic grafts. Possible mechanisms were discussed.

Potato virus Y infection hinders potato defence response and renders plants more vulnerable to Colorado potato beetle attack.

In the field, plants are challenged by more than one biotic stressor at the same time. In this study, the molecular interactions between potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say; CPB) and Potato virus YNTN (PVYNTN) were investigated through analyses of gene expression in the potato leaves and the gut of the CPB larvae, and of the release of potato volatile compounds. CPB larval growth was enhanced when reared on secondary PVYNTN-infected plants, which was linked to decreased accumulation of transcripts associated with the antinutritional properties of potato. In PVYNTN-infected plants, ethylene signalling pathway induction and induction of auxin response transcription factors were attenuated, while no differences were observed in jasmonic acid (JA) signalling pathway. Similarly to rearing on virus-infected plants, CPB larvae gained more weight when reared on plants silenced in JA receptor gene (coi1). Although herbivore-induced defence mechanism is regulated predominantly by JA, response in coi1-silenced plants only partially corresponded to the one observed in PVYNTN-infected plants, confirming the role of other plant hormones in modulating this response. The release of β-barbatene and benzyl alcohol was different in healthy and PVYNTN-infected plants before CPB larvae infestation, implicating the importance of PVYNTN infection in plant communication with its environment. This was reflected in gene expression profiles of neighbouring plants showing different degree of defence response. This study thus contributes to our understanding of plant responses in agro-ecosystems.

Characterization of a Novel Resistance-Breaking Isolate of Potato Virus Y in Nicotiana Tabacum

Potato virus Y (PVY) was identified from a PVY-resistance flue-cured tobacco variety KF120 showing vein necrosis at Buron province, Korea. Biological properties of the isolate named PVY-ToBR1 was characterized using various host plants with another isolate PVY-ToJC37. The isolated PVY-ToBR1 induced systemic vein necrosis symptoms on a PVY-resistant tobacco cultivar (VAM) harboring potyvirus resistant va gene, though tissue printing showed the systemic movement of virus was slightly delayed. By contrast, the isolate PVY-ToJC37 failed to infect VAM plants and the virus was not detected on inoculated leaf and systemic leaves in VAM plants. Similarly, the isolated PVY-ToBR1 induced distinctly systemic vein necrosis symptoms on PVY-resistant tobacco cultivars (V.SCR, PBD6, TN86, TN90, Virgin A Mutant, NC744, and Wislica) that have the recessive potyvirus resistance gene va, but PVY-ToJC37 did not infect systemically infect these tobacco cultivars, suggesting that PVY-ToBR1 is a novel resistance-breaking isolate in tobacco. The coat protein (CP) genes of PVY-ToBR1 and PVY-ToJC37 were amplified using RT-PCR assays with specific primers for PVY isolates and nucleotide sequences of the CP genes were determined. The isolate PVY-ToBR1 showed 88.4% - 99.4% and 86.6% - 99.4% CP identities to the 46 different PVY isolates at the nucleotide and amino acid, respectively. Phylogenetic relationship from CP comparisons showed that PVY-ToBR1 isolate clustered with PVYNTN isolates and PVY-ToBR1 isolate more closely related to the isolates from European than from North American PVY NTN.

β-1,3-glucanase class III promotes spread of PVYNTN and improves in planta protein production

Glucanases are enzymes regulating the size exclusion limit and permeability of plasmodesmata and play a role in biotic stress. In plant genomes, they are encoded as relatively large gene families divided into four classes. Most studies of plant virus interactions have focused on glucanases from classes I and II. In our study, we have evaluated the role of the β-1,3-glucanase class III (Glu-III) gene in the potato–potato virus YNTN (PVYNTN) interaction and implemented the findings to plant biotechnology application. Potato cultivars Désirée and Santé, which are tolerant and extremely resistant to PVYNTN, respectively, were stably transformed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens harbouring constructs for Glu-III overexpression. Localization of Glu-III protein in patches within the cell wall was determined by tagging the Glu-III protein with green fluorescent protein. Transgenic and non-transgenic plants were challenged with PVYNTN and its multiplication and spreading was followed. Differences in viral spread were observed between transgenic lines overexpressing Glu-III and non-transgenic lines, with stronger and faster viral spread in transgenic Désirée, and some multiplication in transgenic Santé. In addition, the ability of Glu-III to improve in planta protein production after agroinfiltration was tested. The results have shown that Glu-III overexpression enables faster spreading of vectors between cells and better protein production, which could be beneficial in improving in planta protein production system using viral vectors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11816-013-0300-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Chlorophyll a fluorescence as a tool for a study of the Potato virus Y effects on photosynthesis of nontransgenic and transgenic Pssu-ipt tobacco

The effect of Potato virus Y NTN (PVY) infection upon photosynthesis was analysed in transgenic Pssu-ipt tobacco overproducing endogenous cytokinins in comparison with control, nontransgenic Nicotiana tabacum plants. The course of the infection from the early to the late stage was monitored by measuring of photosynthetic gas exchange and fast chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence induction kinetics. Leaf photosynthesis was also analysed using Chl fluorescence imaging (Chl-FI). From the different fluorescence parameters obtained using Chl-FI, the nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) proved to be the most useful parameter to assess the effect of PVY infection. On the other hand, Chl-FI was found to be inapplicable for any presymptomatic detection of PVY infection in tobacco. The lower accumulation of the virus was found in transgenic plants and corresponded also with the presence of visible symptoms of PVY infection. The net photosynthetic rate (P N), transpiration rate (E), and stomatal conductance (g s) significantly decreased with the progress of the infection in both control plant types and transgenic rooted plants, while transgenic grafts were much less affected. The analysis of the Chl fluorescence transient revealed higher number of silent dissipative reaction centres, higher nonphotochemical dissipation, and significantly lower performance index, PI(abs), in the healthy transgenic grafts. Chl-FI also confirmed significantly higher NPQ in transgenic grafts.

Diversity of potato virus Y isolates infecting solanaceous vegetables in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa

Potato virus Y (PVY) is a virus of economic importance worldwide with a wide host range. The virus displays a diversity of strains at a biological, serological and molecular level. The aim of this study was to identify the different strains of PVY infecting pepper ( Capsicum annuum L.), potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.) and tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in the province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) in the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Plant material showing PVY-like symptoms were sampled from small-scale and commercial farms. PVY isolates were detected using double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS ELISA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). All PVY infected samples were further tested with strain-specific antibodies and primers. PVY O was the only strain found in all the tomato and pepper infected samples; while a diversity of strains comprising PVY N, PVY NTN and PVY NWilga, with mixed infections in some cases, was found in the potato infected samples. These results confirm the diversity of PVY in KZN as is the case wherever the virus occurs around the world.

Within plant distribution of Potato Virus Y in hairy nightshade ( Solanum sarrachoides): An inoculum source affecting PVY aphid transmission

Potato virus Y (PVY) is vectored by several potato-colonizing and non-colonizing aphid species in a non-persistent manner and has a wide host range. It occurs naturally in several plant families. Myzus persicae and Macrosiphum euphorbiae are the most efficient potato-colonizing aphid vectors of PVY. Rhopalosiphum padi, a cereal aphid that migrates in large numbers through potato fields during the middle of the growing season, does not colonize potato plants but can transmit PVY. Hairy nightshade, Solanum sarrachoides, a prevalent annual solanaceous weed in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States, is an alternative host for PVY and a preferred host for M. persicae and M. euphorbiae. Hence, hairy nightshade plants might play an important role as an inoculum source in the epidemiology of PVY. We looked at titre accumulation and distribution of PVY O, PVY N:O and PVY NTN in S. sarrachoides and potato after aphid inoculation with M. persicae and studied the transmission of PVY O and PVY NTN, by M. persicae, M. euphorbiae and R. padi from hairy nightshade to potato plants. Virus titre at different positions on the plant was similar in S. sarrachoides and potato plants with strains PVY O and PVY N:O. Titres of PVY NTN were similar in S. sarrachoides and potato but differences in titre were observed at different positions within the plant depending on the plant phenology. Percentage transmission of PVY NTN by M. persicae and M. euphorbiae was twice as high (46 and 34%, respectively) from hairy nightshade to potato than from potato to potato (20 and 14%). Percentage transmission of PVY O by M. persicae and M. euphorbiae was not affected by the inoculum source. No effect of the inoculum source was observed in the transmission of either PVY strain by R. padi. These results show that hairy nightshade may be an equal or better virus reservoir than potato and thus, important in the epidemiology of PVY.

Long-Term Cold Storage Suppress the Development of Tuber Necrosis Caused by PVYNTN

The aim of this work was to determine the influence of different storage temperatures and tuber maturity on development of tuber necrosis caused by Potato virus Y NTN . Infected tubers of the cultivar Igor of two different maturity groups and non-infected tubers were randomly distributed into 12 storage regimes. Control treatments were stored at constant temperatures of 4, 13 and 24°C. Tubers in the other nine treatments were stored at 4°C at the beginning of experiment and transferred to 24°C after 1 to 29 weeks after harvest. High storage temperatures enhanced the development of tuber necrosis. Prolongation of low temperature storage delayed the development of necrosis and reduced the number of tubers with necrosis. When tubers were stored at low temperature for 21 weeks or more, no necrosis developed after transfer to high temperature. We could not confirm the effect of maturity on development of necrosis caused by PVYNTN.

Impact of Feeding Time on PVYN and PVYNTN Transmission by Myzus Persicae (SULZ.)

In potato seed production, virus diseases especially Potato virus Y (PVY) are of great economic importance. This virus is transmitted by many aphid species in a non-persistent manner, while Myzus persicae (Sulz.) is its most important vector. The first aim of our research was to find out the dependence of the aphid feeding time, both in terms of acquisition feeding time and inoculation feeding time on PVY N W and PVY NTN transmission. The second aim was to compare the retention of both strains of the virus in the body of M. persicae. The research was carried out in a laboratory and in a glasshouse. It was found out that the dependence between feeding time and the effectiveness of PVY N W and PVY NTN transmission was similar. Along with the prolonging of the acquisition feed- ing time from up to 7 s, the effectiveness of the initial transmission of both strains increased. After transmission effectiveness reached the optimum, transmission clearly decreased, but within the extent of the applied feeding time (7 and 30 s; 2, 8, 32 and 60 min) it did not lower down to zero. The highest infection of test plants Physalis floriana Rydb. by both strains was recorded during a 2-minute-long feeding of aphids. The percentage of infected plants amounted to 50% with PVY NTN transmission, and 30% with PVY N W transmission. W.

Incidence and Characterization of Potato virus Y in Seed Potatoes in Tunisia

Surveys during five consecutive years in four main seed potato- growing areas of Tunisia revealed large differences in Potato virus Y (PVY) incidence. Infection rates at harvest ranged from up to 19% in Cap Bon and in Jendouba, to 31% in Kairouan and 48% in Manouba. However, infection rates were very low across the country in 2003 (1-5%), except in Kairouan, and rather low in 2004 (4-10%). Secondary infections in plants growing from imported seed potatoes were assessed to be 1-6% depending on region and year. Serological analysis of a first set of 90 samples collected in 2004-2005 revealed dominance of the PVY N group (90% of the total number of PVY positives). A second set of 44 isolates from samples collected in 2006 was further analyzed with a combination of serotyping, indexing on tobacco, and RT-PCR tests targeting four genomic regions (5' Ntr/P1, HcPro/P3, CI/NIa, CP). Thirty-five of these 44 isolates were typical PVY NTN isolates, with three recombination junctions in HcPro/P3, CI/NIa, and CP regions, respectively, whereas no recombination junction was identified in the genome of five isolates belonging to the PVY N group. One additional recombinant PVY NTN isolate was recovered from a mixed infection with a PVY O isolate. Only three PVY O isolates were recovered from the samples analyzed.

Sequence comparison of the HC-Pro and CP proteins of twoPotato virus Ystrains differing in aphid transmission and systemic movement

Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the helper component protease (HC-Pro) and the coat protein (CP) of two Hungarian Potato virus Y (PVY) isolates, differing in aphid transmissibility were determined. Isolate PVY-5 belongs to the common “O” strain (PVY O ), whereas isolates PVY-98 and PVY-111 belong to the “N” (PVY N ) and the PVY-NTN and PVY-H to the “NTN” (PVY NTN ) strains, respectively. The PVY-5 isolate varied significantly from the others in aphid transmission and in the ability to systemically infect potato plants. To elucidate whether these differences were due to mutations affecting known functional motifs, the corresponding cistrons of the two proteins were sequenced and aligned. Our analysis showed that none of the well-known motifs, responsible for aphid transmission in the two proteins had been affected. However, the defective isolate had two natural mutations in the HC-Pro in the vicinity of the PTK motif, and a number of mutations in the CP, distributed both in the N-terminus and the central region. As these two proteins are the only known viral participants in the aphid transmission mechanism, it is likely that some of the observed mutations might be involved in this process. Thus, our results indicate that other, previously unidentified sequences or factors may influence virus-vector interactions and transmission of PVY.

Localisation of hydrogen peroxide accumulation during Solanum tuberosum cv. Rywal hypersensitive response to Potato virus Y

The reactive oxygen species hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) was detected cytochemically in Solanum tuberosum cv. Rywal tissues as a hypersensitive response (HR) 24 and 48 h after a Potato virus Y (PVY) infection. Hydrogen peroxide was detected in vivo by its reaction with 3.3-diaminobenzidine, producing a reddish-brown staining in contact with H 2O 2. Hydrogen peroxide was detected in the necrotic area of the epidermal and mesophyll cells 24 and 48 h after the PVY infection. Highly localised accumulations of H 2O 2 were found within xylem tracheary elements, and this was much more intensive than in non-infected leaves. Hydrogen peroxide was detected cytochemically in HR also by its reaction with cerium chloride, producing electron-dense deposits of cerium perhydroxides. Inoculation with PVY NTN and also PVY N Wi induced a rapid hypersensitive response during which highly localised accumulations of H 2O 2 was detected in plant cell walls. The most intensive accumulation was present in the bordering cell walls of necrotic mesophyll cells and the adjacent non-necrotic mesophyll cells. Intensive electron-dense deposits of cerium perhydroxide were found along ER cistrenae and chloroplast envelopes connected with PVY particles. The precipitates of hydrogen peroxide were detected in the nuclear envelope and along tracheary elements, especially when virus particles were present inside. The intensive accumulation of H 2O 2 at the early stages of potato–PVY interaction is consistent with its role as an antimicrobial agent and for this reason it has been regarded as a signalling molecule.

Potato Virus YNTN: A Coat and P1 Protein Sequences Analysis of a Brazilian Isolate

Potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum L. cv. Monalisa) showing superficial necrotic rings typical of Potato virus Y NTN (PVYNTN) infection were collected from commercial potato fields in the State of Sao Paulo (Brazil). An isolate named IAC-PVYNTN was characterized by sequencing 822 and 836 nucleotides from the coat protein and P1 protein coding genes, respectively. The IAC-PVYNTN was observed as a European/North American recombinant isolate closely related to three Eu-PVYNTN isolates that share an alternative recombination site in the coat protein cistron near position 144. Therefore, the IAC-PVYNTN isolate may represent a novel recombinant variant between PVYN N-605 Swiss (European) and PVY O-139 Canadian (North American). Cluster analysis of the P1 sequences found IAC-PVYNTN in the sub-cluster of Eu-PVYN/NTN/N:O. This study supports previous evidence of a common origin for PVYN/NTN in Europe and Brazil.

A novel recombinant strain of Potato virus Y suggests a new viral genetic determinant of vein necrosis in tobacco

A novel Potato virus Y (PVY) isolate, L26, recovered from a Frontier potato line was initially typed as a PVY NTN strain using multiplex RT-PCR and serological assays. However, L26 induced mosaic and mild vein clearing symptoms in tobacco rather than vein necrosis characteristic of the PVY NTN strain. The whole genome sequence was determined for L26 and two other PVY NTN isolates, HR1 and N4, from Idaho that did induce vein necrosis in tobacco. The sequence of all three isolates was similar to typical European PVY NTN isolates that contain three recombination junctions in their genome. The sequence of the L26 genome was nearly identical to the genomes HR1, N4, and to a previously characterized PVY NTN isolate, 423-3, differing by only five nucleotides in the entire ca. 9.7-kb genome, only one resulting in a corresponding amino acid change, D-205 to G-205 in the central region of HC-Pro. Two “signature” amino acid residues, thought involved in induction of the vein necrosis syndrome in tobacco, K-400 and E-419, were present in the C-terminal region of HC-Pro of all three isolates. Multiple alignment of the whole genome sequences of L26 and other PVY NTN isolates whose phenotype in tobacco has been reported, suggests that a single nucleotide change (A-1,627 to G-1,627) resulting in the single amino acid change (D-205 to G-205) in the HC-Pro cistron of L26 correlates with the loss of the vein necrosis phenotype in tobacco. Secondary structure modeling of the HC-Pro protein predicts the G-205 residue, and the previously identified residues K-400 and E-419, would all be located on the exposed surface of the protein. Taken together, these data suggest that the vein necrosis genetic determinant of PVY in tobacco is complex and includes other element(s), in addition to the C-terminal fragment of HC-Pro.

Multiple hormone analysis indicates involvement of jasmonate signalling in the early defence of potato to potato virus Y<sup>NTN</sup>

The involvement of plant hormones in the very early response of plants to virus infection was studied in potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) infected with potato virus YNTN (PVYNTN). Endogenous plant hormones and compounds mediating a stress response (JA-jasmonic acid, OPDA-12-oxo phytodienoic acid, SA-salicylic acid, IAA-indole-3-acetic acid, ABA-abscisic acid) were simultaneously quantified in susceptible cv. DĂŠsirĂŠe and resistant cv. SantĂŠ, one and three hours after inoculation. Of the hormones analysed, only the contents of endogenous JA and its precursor OPDA changed in a way that could be clearly connected with the early resistant response. In comparison to susceptible cultivar, a much more pronounced increase of JA was detected in virus-inoculated leaves of resistant cultivar at both time points. The same trend of changes was also observed with OPDA. However, there were no significant changes of JA and its precursor in upper intact systemic leaves and roots, at either time point. These findings implicate the jasmonate signalling pathway in a very early local but not systemic resistant defence of potato to PVYNTN.