Development of a Reliable Technique to Eliminate Sweet potato leaf curl virus through Meristem Tip Culture Combined with Therapy of Infected Ipomoea Species

In vitro elimination of Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) from infected sweet potato is difficult due to low number of virus-free plants obtained from meristem tip culture and long growth period required for the virus detection. In this study, efficient production of the SPLCV-free sweet potato by in vitro therapy coupled with a PCR assay for virus detection was investigated. Infected shoots cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium were treated at three different temperatures for 7 weeks followed by meristem tip culture on the medium with or without ribavirin at 50 mg/L. The regenerated plantlets were tested for virus infection by a PCR assay. The results showed that the both heat- and cold-treatments, and addition of the ribavirin did not have significant effect on efficiency of the virus elimination. The meristem size, however, greatly affected the survival rate. Meristems sized over 0.4 mm survived better than smaller ones (0.2-0.3 mm). The PCR assay was approved to be a rapid, sensitive and reliable for the SPLCV detection in regenerated plantlets. Therefore, combination of cultivating meristem tips sized 0.4-0.5 mm on the medium at $22^{\circ}C$ without ribavirin and detection of SPLCV in the regenerated plantlets by the PCR assay was an efficient system for the SPLCV elimination from infected sweet potato.