Distribution and Prevalence Potato virus Y Isolates Obtained from Potatoes Grown in the Iran by RT-PCR

Abstract

To survey the distribution and prevalence of potato virus Y (PVY) strains in north western Iran, 381 symptomatic infected samples of the main potatoes grown in the said region were collected from the fields between (Hall et al., 1998) 2007 and 2008. The collected samples were first tested for PVY infection via a double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA) technique. Of the total number of collected samples, 79 (20.73%) tested positive for PVY infection. The highest level of PVY infection was observed in the district of Gilak-Abad in Sarab County, whereas the lowest infection was observed in the district of Oughan in the suburbs of Sarab city. The RT-PCR detection of PVY strains by using specific primers resulted in the amplification of DNA fragments specific to the PVY strains NTN, C, O, and N at 725, 1553, 352, and 616 bp, respectively. The highest strain diversity of PVY was detected in the district of Shirehjin in Sarab city and the lowest in the district of Ghaleh Jugh in Bostan-Abad city. Both single and multiple infection types of the PVY stains were observed in the region. Of the 79 PVY-infected samples, 77.21% were infected with strain O, 62.02% with strain C, 39.24% with strain N, and 8.86% with strain NTN. The highest level of multiple infections was observed in the combinations of the strains C+O (27.84%) and the triple strains O+N+C (15.18%). This paper is the first to report the detection of the PVY strain NTN in Iran.

Keywords: RT-PCR, Molecular diagnosis, Potato, ELISA, Potato Virus Y (PVY)