Susanne von Bargen, Elise Grubits, Risto Jalkanen, Carmen Büttner. (2009). Cherry leaf roll virus – an emerging virus in Finland? Silva Fennica vol. 43 no. 5 article id 169. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.169

Keywords: Betula pendula; Betula pubescens; Betula nana; IC-RT-PCR; 3' non-coding region; CLRV; phylogenetic relationship

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Cherry leaf roll virus, CLRV, is a plant pathogen that infects a variety of deciduous trees and shrubs in temperate regions. Little is known about its occurrence at high latitudes and especially in Finnish birch species. Still, symptoms that seemed to be associated with CLRV such as vein banding, leaf roll and decline have been observed in birch trees throughout the country since the summer of 2002. Six different birch species, subspecies or varieties, i.e. Betula pubescens subsp. pubescens (downy birch), B. pendula (silver birch), B. nana (dwarf birch), B. pubescens var. appressa (Kiilopää birch), B. pubescens subsp. czerepanovii (mountain birch) and B. pendula var. carelica (curly birch) originating from all over Finland were assessed by immunocapture-reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (IC-RT-PCR) for CLRV infection. It was shown that CLRV is widely distributed in B. pendula and B. pubescens throughout the country. Furthermore, dwarf birch, mountain birch, Kiilopää birch and curly birch were confirmed to be previously unkown hosts of CLRV. Genetic analysis of virus sequence variants originating from Finnish birch trees revealed atypical phylogenetic relationships. In contrast to CLRV isolates from birches growing in the United Kingdom and Germany which clustered exclusively within group A, Finnish CLRV isolates belonged either to group B, D or E. Thus, virus population structure in Finnish birches seems to be more variable and host plant dependency seems not to apply for Finnish CLRV isolates.

Bargen, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department für Nutzpflanzen- und Tierwissenschaften, Fachgebiet Phytomedizin, Lentzeallee 55/57, 14195 Berlin, Germany E-mail: susanne.von.bargen@agrar.hu-berlin.de
Grubits, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department für Nutzpflanzen- und Tierwissenschaften, Fachgebiet Phytomedizin, Lentzeallee 55/57, 14195 Berlin, Germany E-mail: eg@nn.de
Jalkanen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Rovaniemi Research Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: risto.jalkanen@metla.fi
Büttner, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department für Nutzpflanzen- und Tierwissenschaften, Fachgebiet Phytomedizin, Lentzeallee 55/57, 14195 Berlin, Germany E-mail: cb@nn.de

Category : Research note

article id 927, category Research note

Risto Jalkanen, Carmen Büttner, Susanne von Bargen. (2007). Cherry leaf roll virus abundant on Betula pubescens in Finland. Silva Fennica vol. 41 no. 4 article id 927. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.927

Keywords: Betula pendula; Betula nana; Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii; virology

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Virus-related symptoms such as vein banding, leaf roll, chlorosis and subsequent necrosis on birch leaves were increasingly recorded throughout Finland since 2002. They are widespread in this country and have also been detected in northern Norway and Sweden. Symptomatic foliage has so far been found on Betula pendula, B. pubescens, B. pubescens subsp. czerepanovii, and B. nana. A Cherry leaf roll virus (CLRV) specific IC-RT-PCR was applied to young leaves, buds and catkins of symptomatic shoots of nineteen pubescent and one silver birch trees grown in the centre of Rovaniemi, Finland. CLRV was found in seventeen B. pubescens trees. This is the first time that B. pubescens has been confirmed to be a host species for CLRV in Finland. Nor has CLRV been recorded earlier in northern Finland.

Jalkanen, Finnish Forest Research Institute, Rovaniemi Research Unit, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: risto.jalkanen@metla.fi
Büttner, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Gartenbauwissenschaften, Fachgebiet Phytomedizin, Lentzeallee 55/57, 14195 Berlin, Germany E-mail: Carmen.Buettner@agrar.hu-berlin.de
Bargen, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Institut für Gartenbauwissenschaften, Fachgebiet Phytomedizin, Lentzeallee 55/57, 14195 Berlin, Germany E-mail: susanne.von.bargen@agrar.hu-berlin.de

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