Graduate Student to Discuss Two Novel Strawberry Rhabdoviruses in Virtual Seminar

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Ava Wait is a graduate student in Ioannis Tzanetakis' lab in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.

The Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology is hosting seminar speaker Ava Wait, a graduate student in assistant professor Ioannis Tzanetakis' lab, today. The seminar is titled "Characterization, Incidence and Epidemiology of Two Novel Strawberry Rhabdoviruses."

The seminar takes place from 3:30-5:20 p.m. via Zoom link:

• https://bit.ly/3sv3Gft
• Meeting ID: 810 5065 7798
• Passcode: Spring2021

The seminar is open to everyone.

Wait describes the study and results: "Strawberry is the most important berry crop, grown in most temperate regions around the world. In the early 2000s and in 2012-2013, viral disease devastated strawberry production in California and Florida respectively; causing multimillion-dollar losses

1. This occurred because viruses were moving in the field undetected. The modern strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is tolerant to single and double infections; yet when several viruses infect plants, symptoms as severe as plant death can occur. To prevent future epidemics, the use of virus-tested planting materials is essential. In 2019, rhabdovirus-like sequences were detected in strawberry using a combination of high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics.
2. This study focuses on several epidemiological aspects of the two viruses, including molecular characterization, phylogenetics, diagnostics, transmission and incidence in major strawberry-producing areas of the United States. The genomes of the two viruses have been obtained and phylogenetic analyses of the most conserved protein, the virus replicase, indicate that the closest relative to the first virus is Lettuce necrotic yellows virus (67% amino acid identities), the type member of the genus Cytorhabdovirus.
3. The second virus is very distantly related to plant-infecting rhabdoviruses and therefore is proposed to be the inaugural member of a new genus (Fragarhavirus) in the Rhabdoviridae. A survey in four states, including California and Florida, suggest that the two viruses are not widespread in production areas.

"Diagnostics, targeting multiple genes, were optimized based on available sequences to ensure accurate and reliable detection. The strawberry (Chaetosiphon fragaefolii) and small bramble aphids (Aphis ruborum) are being evaluated as likely vectors of the two viruses. As a result of this study, transmissibility by two aphid species will be evaluated, and the genomic data are added to the knowledge of rhabdoviruses and strawberry viruses. Diagnostic tests are now available for clean plant programs and certification schemes. By introducing plants tested free of the two viruses to the field, strawberry growers are better positioned to prevent virus-induced losses."

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