Evidence for the occurrence of Prunus necrotic ringspot virus on peach in India by serological and molecular methods

Abstract

Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) is a widespread virus that causes tremendous losses on stone fruits. Necrotic symptoms typical of the virus were observed on the leaves of peach trees, Prunus persica ‘Elberta’, during a survey of the Kullu area of Himachal Pradesh, a northern state of India. PNRSV-specific antibodies were used for serological detection, and positive results were obtained. Molecular detection of the coat-protein (CP) gene of the PNRSV by means of reverse transcription–polymerase chain, with a primer pair that amplifies the complete CP region, amplified the ~700-bp product, which showed a maximum of 98% identity with an isolate from the United States. Multiple alignment of the CP sequence with that of other PNRSV isolates showed 87%–100% identity at the nucleotide and amino acid level. © 2007, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.