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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Horticultural Crops Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #202246
Title: First Report of Blueberry scorch virus in Black Huckleberry in British Columbia

Author
item WEGENER, L - SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
item PUNJA, Z - SIMON FRASER UNIVERSISTY
item Martin, Robert

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2006
Publication Date: 3/1/2007
Citation: Wegener, L.A., Punja, Z.K., Martin, R.R. 2007. First report of Blueberry scorch virus in black huckleberry in British Columbia. Plant Disease. 91(3):328.

Interpretive Summary: Blueberry scorch virus (BlScV) is an aphid-borne virus that causes a serious disease of highbush blueberry in North America and Europe. Symptoms of BlScV infection on highbush blueberry range from symptomless to chlorosis, to flower and leaf necrosis depending on virus strain and blueberry cultivar. To date, cranberry is the only other reported natural host of BlScV. In July 2004, asymptomatic wild black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) was sampled in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Foliar tissues from 11 bushes were collected and tested by ELISA. Six of the 11 bushes tested positive for BlScV. The presence of BlScV in these plants was confirmed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Sequencing of the PCR products showed that the black huckleberry strain was closely related to previously published sequences of the virus. The presence of BlScV in alternate hosts has implications for disease epidemiology. Testing for BlScV in Vaccinium species in and around commercial highbush blueberry plantings, as well as lowbush blueberry, rabbiteye blueberry, other native Pacific Northwest Vaccinium species as well as ornamental Vaccinium species is warranted.

Technical Abstract: Blueberry scorch virus (BlScV), an aphid-borne carlavirus, causes a serious disease of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) in North America and Europe. Symptoms of BlScV infection on highbush blueberry include necrosis of flower blossoms and young leaves, shoot blight, and chlorosis. To date, cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon L.) is the only other natural host of BlScV. In July 2004, wild black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum L.) was sampled in the Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Foliar tissues from 11 bushes were sampled in 2004 from a clearing on the side of a mountain near Crawford Bay, BC and tested by Double Antibody Sandwich Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (DAS-ELISA) using polyclonal antiserum. Six of the 11 bushes tested positive for BlScV. To confirm presence of the virus, total nucleic acid was extracted from ELISA-positive huckleberry samples according to an established protocol. Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was performed using pd(T)12-18 random primer (Amersham Biosciences) for reverse transcription, and BlScV-specific primers developed against the published NJ-2 sequence of BlScV (GenBank Accession No. NC_003499). Using the forward primer, BS708F, (5’-TCAATCCGTGGTGCTACGAG-3’), and the reverse primer, BS1188R, (5’-ACAGTGCGCAATGTTCCAGT-3’), a 480 bp amplicon was obtained from each of the ELISA-positive samples. Sequencing of the amplicons revealed 90%, 84% and 77% nucleotide sequence identity, and 97%, 96% and 88% amino acid sequence identity, respectively with strains NJ-2, BC-1 (GenBank Accession No. AY941198), and BC-2 (GenBank Accession No. AY941199). BlScV-infected huckleberries were asymptomatic. The presence of BlScV in alternate hosts has implications for disease epidemiology. Testing for BlScV in Vaccinium species in and around commercial highbush blueberry plantings, as well as lowbush blueberry (V. angustifolium Aiton), rabbiteye blueberry (V. ashei Reade), other native Pacific Northwest species (V. ovatum Pursh, V. parvifolium Smith), and ornamental Vaccinium species is warranted. To our knowledge, this is the first report of BlScV infecting black huckleberry.