DisplayTitle

Thrips-transmitted <i>Tomato spotted wilt virus</i> (TSWV) is a major constraint to peanut production in the southeast since its introduction in the 1980s. At that time, most genotypes grown were very susceptible to TSWV. Over the last two decades, breeding efforts have resulted in the development of genotypes with high levels of field resistance. Currently, planting such genotypes is the main management tactic against TSWV. However, unlike TSWV resistant genotypes of tomato and pepper, genes conferring TSWV resistance have not been identified in peanut, and the mechanisms of resistance are unknown. The goal of this study was to evaluate the interactions between newly developed TSWV resistant peanut genotypes and thrips and TSWV. Four resistant genotypes and a susceptible genotype were selected. Thrips-mediated transmission experiments indicated that thrips transmitted TSWV to the susceptible genotype at a greater efficiency than resistant genotypes. All genotypes exhibited typical TSWV symptoms upon infection. Titer estimation using Real Time Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-RT-PCR) indicated that some resistant genotypes accumulated fewer or more N-gene copies of TSWV when compared with the susceptible genotype. Thrips development and reproduction did not differ drastically between susceptible and resistant genotypes. These results demonstrate that resistant peanut genotypes may be exhibiting tolerance than major gene-governed resistance to TSWV. N-gene sequencing of TSWV isolates from TSWV resistant and susceptible genotypes indicated no consistent differences between them, suggesting that the resistance exhibited by peanut genotypes might not exert a high selection pressure against TSWV.<p><p>Keywords: Virus-Viroid, Legumes