Journal of Plant Pathology, cilt.90, sa.1, ss.75-79, 2008 (SCI-Expanded)
Walnut orchards of the Lake Van basin (Turkey)
were surveyed from June to October 2006 to determine
the incidence of viral infections. ELISA and RT-PCR
were used to investigate the presence of Cherry leaf roll
virus (CLRV) and Plum pox virus (PPV), testing a total
of 870 samples collected from traditional seed-grown
plantations. Whereas no PPV was detected in any of the
samples, CLRV was found for the first time in the surveyed locations with an average incidence of 12.9%.
Two viral isolates from Edremit were mechanically
transmitted to Chenopodium amaranticolor in which
they caused local chlorotic spots followed by development of small leaves and apical necrosis. A 366 bp DNA
fragment was amplified by RT-PCR from the 3’ noncoding region of RNA-2 of both viral isolates and sequenced. Isolate Edremit-2 was 93-98% identical to the
comparable sequences of other isolates for which information is available, whereas isolate Edremit-1 had a
lower sequence identity (53-46%). The size of the coat
protein subunits of both viral isolates was 52.4 kDa as
determined by electrophoresis.