Oral Technical Session: Vectors and Vectored Pathogens

80-O

Novel broad-spectrum resistance to potato potyviruses.
L. TORRANCE (1), G. Cowan (1), K. Mclean (1), A. Al-Abedy (1), S. MacFarlane (1), G. Bryan (1)
(1) The James Hutton Institute, Dundee, United Kingdom

Potyviruses are the most economically important virus diseases affecting potato production systems worldwide. The viruses are transmitted by many different species of aphid vectors and since the virus can be transmitted to the plants before the aphid is killed these virus diseases are inefficiently controlled by insecticides. New more severe recombinant strains of PVY are dominating potato production systems. Broad spectrum resistance to three potato infecting potyviruses has been found in germplasm derived from the Solanum phureja core collection held at The James Hutton Institute. Plants were challenged with the different viruses by mechanical inoculation, and resistant plants were either completely immune to Potato virus Y and Potato virus A (extreme resistance; ER) or infection was confined to the inoculated leaves (Potato virus V). Results of tests on seedlings derived from crosses between susceptible and resistant parents are compatible with the ER being conferred by a dominant major gene and preliminary mapping studies suggest that it is located in the middle of chromosome 9.
Keywords: Virus-Viroid, Root-Tuber Crops, Potato