Poster: Diseases of Plants: Disease Detection & Diagnosis
548-P
Distribution and vertical transmission of Southern tomato virus in tomato
S. COSKAN (1), R. Alcalá-Briseño (1), J. Polston (1) (1) UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, U.S.A.
Southern tomato virus (STV) is a recently identified virus that infects tomato cultivars worldwide. STV has is a monopartite virus with a double-stranded RNA genome (3.5 kb) containing two overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) and is the type species of the genus Amalgavirus (family Amalgaviridae). A reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using virus-specific primers was used to detect STV in 21 tomato cultivars. STV was detected in plants produced by a number of seed companies which indicates that the virus is widely distributed in the vegetable seed industry. STV was detected for the first time in four cultivars: ‘Agriset 761’, ‘Mexico Midget’, ‘Roma’ and ‘Sweet Hearts’. ‘Sweet Hearts’ tomato plants were evaluated for the presence of STV using RT-PCR at different developmental stages of tomato plants. STV could be detected in the 1 to 2 week-old germinated seedlings at a frequency similar to that of older plants from the same seed lot. The presence or absence of STV was consistent across all four developmental stages. Seed transmission studies of progeny produced from crosses of different combinations of parents that were STV-positive or negative, revealed that STV could be transmitted to the next generation by either ovule or pollen.