Work

Managing Plant Viruses in Tissue-Cultured Apple and Grapevine: Strategies for Detection and Eradication

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Producing virus-free planting materials is fundamental to sustainable fruit tree cultivation, particularly for high-value crops such as apple (Malus domestica) and grapevine (Vitis vinifera). Given the systemic and persistent nature of most plant viruses and viroids, effective elimination remains a major challenge within a tissue culture-based propagation system. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of conventional virus elimination strategies-including thermotherapy, meristem and shoot tip culture, chemotherapy, and electrotherapy-while highlighting their respective strengths and limitations. Concurrently, advancements in virus detection technologies have significantly enhanced the sensitivity, speed, and precision of virus indexing, enabling the early detection of low-titer or latent infections in plantlets cultured in vitro. Besides eradication strategies, increasing attention is directed toward virus inhibition approaches. RNA interferencebased methods and plant-derived antiviral agents demonstrate promising antiviral activity in tissue-cultured apples and grapevines, offering chemical-free and ecofriendly alternatives. These biologically based inhibition strategies are particularly well-suited for integration into existing micropropagation systems. Collectively, this review emphasizes the importance of combining conventional sanitation methods with next-generation diagnostics and innovative biological inhibition technologies to develop robust, scalable, and sustainable protocols for virus-free certification.

Source: The Plant Pathology Journal

DOI: 10.5423/ppj.rw.07.2025.0092

Authors: Chae-Min Kang, Min-Jae Kim, Jin-Sung Hong, Rae-Dong Jeong

Institutions: Chonnam National University, Kangwon National University

Language: English

Topic: Plant Virus Research Studies

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $850