Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Section 2.4.1
Potato Spindle Tuber
Viroid(PSTVd)
Potato spindle tuber disease was first reported by Martin in 1922. The
term “spindle tuber” was used by South Jersey (USA) farmers to describe
the shape of affected tubers. This disease is caused by the potato
spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) which is a small RNA molecule without a
protein coat. Unlike other potato viruses that thrive in temperate and cold
climates, PSTVd needs a tropical climate to multiply. Yield losses due to
this viroid depend on potato cultivar and viral strain. Severe strains can
cause losses of up to 65%.
Infected tubers are elongated and some cultivars develop pointed ends,
which are a typical characteristic of the disease. Other symptoms that
have been observed include deep eyes, necrotic spots around the
lenticels, surface cracks, and pulp necrosis. Neither all nor even some of
these symptoms are present in all tubers from infected plants.
The mechanical transmission of PSTVd to a susceptible plant host is very
easy. Under field conditions, a sick plant may infect a nearby plant by
simple contact. The viroid can also be transmitted to other plants during
handling (i.e., by using contaminated tools) or through botanical seed.
Detection Methods
1. Tomato test
a) Normal test
c) Challenge test
1. Tomato Test
b) Yang and Hooker test. This test is carried out as above, but the
inoculated plants are kept at 24–30 °C under continuous
fluorescent light (100 ft-c). The tomato plants infected with either
severe or mild PSTVd strains show albinism. In the case of a
severe strain, the plants also show vein necrosis. This method is
more sensitive than the normal test because it allows detection of
both viroid strains.
After gel staining, PSTVd RNA can be localized near the center of
the gel because PSTVd RNA migrates more slowly than 9S RNA.
In some cases, the 9S RNA band may not be clearly visible. Thus,
it is advisable to use infected (positive) and healthy controls in the
test run. The positive sample may be identified by comparing it to
the controls.
Since 1983, CIP has used this technique for routine work due to its high
sensitivity, and because it is possible to simultaneously analyze a large
number of samples. Several conditions must be present to use this
technique:
Experiments carried out at CIP show that this method is 10 times more
efficient than the PAGE test and can help to detect the viroid in 1 infected
seed out of 100.
Recommended Literature
Diener, T.O. and W.B. Raymer. 1967. Potato spindle tuber virus: Plant
viroid with properties of a free nucleic acid. Science 158:387.
Diener, T.O. 1979. Viroids and viroid diseases. John Wiley & Sons. New
York.
Sanger, H.L. 1982. Biology, structure, functions and possible origin of
viroids. In: Nucleic Acids and Proteins in Plants, Vol. 2. Springer-
Verlag. Berlin. 168 pp.