Presence and distribution of pepper viruses in Serbia

Abstract

Pepper is a very popular and profitable crop in Serbia and its production is growing rapidly as well as the importance of diseases caused by viruses. Virus infections interfere with development of pepper plants, reducing yield and fruit quality. More than 45 viruses have been isolated from pepper so far, and in our country the following are considered economically very important: Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) and Potato virus Y (PVY). During 2009, an investigation was conducted regarding the presence and distribution of pepper viruses in Serbia, which included a survey of different localities of transplant production, and both greenhouse and open field pepper crops. Collected samples were tested utilizing a double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) with polyclonal antisera specific for the detection of economically important pepper viruses: PVY, AMV, CMV, TSWV, TMV and Potato virus X (PVX). In the collected samples, presence of the four viruses (PVY, CMV, TSWV and AMV) was confirmed in single and mixed infections. In tested transplant samples, the most frequently detected virus was CMV (18.18%), while PVY was the most frequent in samples collected in greenhouse and open field pepper crops (32.56% and 51.21% respectively). The presence of TSWV was detected only in greenhouse-grown pepper crops, while the presence of PVX and TMV was not detected during this investigation. The obtained results indicated that PVY and CMV were widely distributed and the most frequent viruses in pepper crops in Serbia. Future investigation should include their detailed biological and molecular characterization, as well as the implementation of appropriate control measures in pepper productions.

Virusne bolesti paprike mogu ugroziti normalan razvoj biljaka i time značajno umanjiti prinos i kvalitet plodova. U svetu je opisano više od 45 virusa infektivnih za papriku, među kojima su ekonomski najznačajniji virus mozaika duvana (Tobacco mosaic virus, TMV), virus mozaika krastavca (Cucumber mosaic virus, CMV), virus mozaika lucerke (Alfalfa mosaic virus, AMV), virus bronzavosti paradajza (Tomato spotted wilt virus, TSWV) i virus crtičastog mozaika krompira (Potato virus Y, PVY). Prisustvo i rasprostranjenost virusnih zaraza paprike u Srbiji ispitivani su tokom 2009. u različitim lokalitetima proizvodnje rasada, kao i useva paprike gajene u zaštićenom prostoru i na otvorenom polju. Sakupljeni uzorci lišća sa simptomima testirani su DAS-ELISA metodom na prisustvo: PVY, AMV, CMV, TSWV, TMV i virusa mozaika krompira (Potato virus X, PVX). Dobijeni rezultati ispitivanja su ukazali na prisustvo četiri virusa: PVY, CMV, TSWV i AMV, koji su identifikovani u pojedinačnim ili mešanim infekcijama. U testiranim uzorcima paprike iz rasada najzastupljeniji je bio CMV (18,18%), dok je u uzorcima prikupljenim iz plastenika i polja najčešći bio PVY (32,56% i 51,21%). Prisustvo TSWV dokazano je samo na biljkama paprike gajenim u zaštićenom prostoru. Prisustvo PVX i TMV nije ustanovljeno ni u jednom ispitivanom uzorku paprike. Utvrđena značajna rasprostranjenost i zastupljenost PVY i CMV u proizvodnji paprike u Srbiji ukazuje na potrebu detaljne karakterizacije ova dva virusa na biološkom i molekularnom nivou, kao i sprovođenje odgovarajućih mera kontrole.