Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Virology
112-P
Characterization of recombinant Potato virus YNTN (PVYNTN) isolates from Sulawesi, Indonesia
A. KARASEV (1), M. Chikh-Ali (1), N. Bosqui-Perez (1), D. Vander Pol (1), D. Sembel (2); (1) University of Idaho, USA, (2) Universitas Sam Ratulangi, Manado
In the last three decades, Granola, a potato cultivar originally from Germany, has become the most common cultivar for fresh consumption in Indonesia. In August 2014, a survey was conducted in Sulawesi, where potato fields cultivated with Granola and its selection, cultivar Super John were surveyed for Potato virus Y (PVY) presence using visual symptoms and serology. PVY was found in Sulawesi for the first time. Samples determined to be positive for PVY were subsequently typed to strain using RT-PCR assays. All PVY isolates sampled were identified as PVYNTN recombinants, with three recombination junctions in P3, VPg, and CP regions of the genome. Three local PVY isolates were subjected to whole genome sequencing and subsequent sequence analysis. The whole genomes of the Indonesian PVYNTN isolates I-6, I-16 and I-17, were found to be closely related to the European PVYNTNa. This recombinant type was shown previously to cause potato tuber necrotic ringspot disease (PTNRD) in susceptible potato cultivars. The dependence of potato farmers on mostly a single cultivar, Granola, may have given a competitive advantage to PVYNTN over other PVY strains resulting in the predominance of the PVYNTN recombinant. The dominance of PVYNTN in Sulawesi, and possibly in Indonesia as a whole, represents a potential risk to any newly introduced potato cultivar to the country, especially cultivars susceptible to PTNRD.