Blackberry Yellow Vein Associated Virus: A New Crinivirus Found in Blackberry

Abstract

During the last three years blackberries in southern and southeastern U.S. have shown symptoms of vein clearing, yellow mottling and plant decline with considerable variation in symptoms with cultivars. We isolated dsRNA from symptomatic plants and identified high molecular weight bands similar to those isolated from plants infected with criniviruses. Paired extractions from virus-tested blackberries did not yield any dsRNA bands with molecular weight greater than 500 bp. Using degenerate primers developed against the crinivirus 1b protein in RT-PCR resulted in an amplicon that when sequenced showed the virus was a member of the Crinivirus genus. We have also cloned the virus and sequenced clones containing regions of the minor coat protein of the virus. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the new virus, designated as Blackberry yellow vein associated virus (BYVaV), is related most closely to Beet pseudo-yellows virus and Strawberry pallidosis associated virus, two criniviruses recently identified in strawberry.

Epidemiology of criniviruses: an emerging problem in world agriculture

“…This was questioned when blackberry plants were infected with TRSV using nematodes and infected plants did not develop symptoms over a 3-year period. The first virus characterized from blackberry plants that exhibited BYVD symptoms from South Carolina was a crinivirus, and named Blackberry yellow vein associated virus (BYVaV; Martin et al, 2004). …”

“…Since then there has been a steady increase in the number of new species with most identified over the past 20 years (Winter et al, 1992; Celix et al, 1996; Duffus et al, 1996a,b; Liu et al, 1997; Wisler et al, 1998a; Salazar et al, 2000; Wisler and Duffus, 2001; Martin et al, 2004; Martín et al, 2008; Tzanetakis et al, 2004; Okuda et al, 2010). …”

A member of a new genus in the Potyviridae infects Rubus

“…The disease is characterized by the appearance of yellow vein symptoms on the older leaves of primocanes and vein-yellowing and die-back of floricanes. A new crinivirus, Blackberry yellow vein associated virus (BYVaV) has been associated with symptoms (Martin et al, 2004) but the identification of 'Chickasaw' plants that were asymptomatic suggested that additional agents may be involved in symptom development niques we verified the presence of a novel potyvirus, designated as Blackberry virus Y (BVY).…”

Yellow vein‐affected blackberries and the presence of a novel Crinivirus

“…DsRNA was extracted from 20 g of leaf tissue from 10 BYVaV‐infected plants (five with and three without symptoms from Arkansas, two symptomless plants from South Carolina) and two virus‐free plants from the HCRL, as described previously (Martin et al ., 2004). Complementary DNA synthesis was performed according to the methods of Jelkmann et al .…”

“…Double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) extractions disclosed the presence of high MW bands. Cloning and sequence analysis revealed the presence of an undescribed virus, related to criniviruses, designated as Blackberry yellow vein associated virus (BYVaV) (Martin et al ., 2004).…”