First report of tomato ringspot virus in an Ohio vineyard

Authors: YAO, XIAOLONG - The Ohio State University; HAN, JUNPING - The Ohio State University; Domier, Leslie; QU, GENG - The Ohio State University; LEWIS IVEY, MELANIE - The Ohio State University

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/3/2017
Publication Date: 1/2/2018
Citation: Yao, X., Han, J., Domier, L.L., Qu, G., Lewis Ivey, M.L. 2018. First report of tomato ringspot virus in an Ohio vineyard. Plant Disease. 102(1):259.

Interpretive Summary: Tomato ringspot virus (TomRSV) has been associated with raspberry and grapevine decline in Canada, Chile, and several states in the USA, but has never been found in Ohio grapevines. In this study, 140 grapevine leaf samples were collected from 40 Ohio vineyards during 2012 to 2014 and assayed for the presence of viruses by next generation sequencing. This analysis identified the two genome segments of TomRSV in an Ohio vineyard. The virus from Ohio was most similar to Canadian and Chilean raspberry isolates of TomRSV. The Ohio vineyard from which the TomRSV-infected samples were collected showed symptoms of severe decline including stunted shoots, small fruit clusters with few, small fruits, and premature leaf senescence. These experiments will be of interest to scientist and viticulturists interested in management of grape vine decline.

Technical Abstract: Tomato ringspot virus (TomRSV) has been reported to be associated with raspberry and grapevine decline in Canada, Chile, and several states in the USA, but has never been found in Ohio grapevines (1-5). This report documents the first discovery of TomRSV in an Ohio vineyard. TomRSV is a member of the genus Nepovirus, subfamily Comovirinae, family Secoviridae, with two single-stranded, positive sense RNA genome segments (RNA1 and RNA2) of approximately 8,200 and 7,200 nucleotides (nt), respectively (1,2). The TomRSV Ohio Grapevine (OG1) isolate was discovered through high throughput sequencing (RNA-Seq) of pooled RNA extracted from 140 grapevine leaf samples, collected from 40 Ohio vineyards during 2012-2014. Specifically, a 5,985 nucleotide (nt) assembled contig shares 94% sequence identities with the RNA1 of a Canadian (Rasp1-2014) and a Chilean (Rasp-CL) TomRSV isolate (4,5). A second, 6,074-nt contig shares 93% sequence identity with the RNA2 of the Rasp-CL isolate (5). Both contigs also share varying levels of sequence identities (83-98%) with partial sequences of many other TomRSV isolates deposited in GenBank. The sequences of these two contigs were deposited in GenBank with accession numbers MF176958 andMF176959. To map the originating vineyard(s) of the TomRSV OG1 isolate, we assayed the 140 samples using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, with the following two primers: TomRSVR1-5892F (5’-GATTTGCAAGCTATCTATTCTTCCCTGTA) and TomRSVR1-6426R (5’-GAATCGCGCATATGGCGTACGCGATGA). These experiments allowed us to trace the TomRSV OG1 isolate to two samples collected in 2012, from two neighboring grapevines (cultivar Vidal Blanc) in the same Ohio vineyard, showing symptoms of severe decline including stunted shoots, small fruit clusters with few, small fruits, and premature leaf senescence. Transmission of TomRSV was not carried out because additional virus-containing tissues could not be collected, due to removal of the diseased vines. The prevalence of TomRSV in Ohio vineyards and its impact on Ohio wine grape production will be assessed with additional investigations.