• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.441-451
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• 2016

Deep sequencing has generated 52 contigs derived from five viruses; Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), Apple green crinkle associated virus (AGCaV), and Apricot latent virus (ApLV) were identified from eight apple samples showing small leaves and/or growth retardation. Nucleotide (nt) sequence identity of the assembled contigs was from 68% to 99% compared to the reference sequences of the five respective viral genomes. Sequences of ASPV and ASGV were the most abundantly represented by the 52 contigs assembled. The presence of the five viruses in the samples was confirmed by RT-PCR using specific primers based on the sequences of each assembled contig. All five viruses were detected in three of the samples, whereas all samples had mixed infections with at least two viruses. The most frequently detected virus was ASPV, followed by ASGV, ApLV, ACLSV, and AGCaV which were withal found in mixed infections in the tested samples. AGCaV was identified in assembled contigs ID 1012480 and 93549, which showed 82% and 78% nt sequence identity with ORF1 of AGCaV isolate Aurora-1. ApLV was identified in three assembled contigs, ID 65587, 1802365, and 116777, which showed 77%, 78%, and 76% nt sequence identity respectively with ORF1 of ApLV isolate LA2. Deep sequencing assay was shown to be a valuable and powerful tool for detection and identification of known and unknown virome in infected apple trees, here identifying ApLV and AGCaV in commercial orchards in Korea for the first time.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2016

Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), and Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) have been known to induce top working disease causing economical damage in apple. Occurrences of these three viruses in pome fruit trees, including apple, have been reported around the world. The transmission of the three viruses was reported by grafting, and there was no report of transmission through mechanical contact, insect vector, or seed except some herbaceous hosts of ASGV. As RNA extraction methods for fruit trees, Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) and multiplex RT-PCR techniques have been improved for reliability and stability, and low titer viruses that could not be detected in the past have become detectable. We studied the seed transmission ability of three apple viruses through apple seedling diagnosis using RT-PCR. Nineteen seeds obtained from commercially grown apple were germinated and two of the resulting plants were ASGV positive. Seven clones of the amplified ASGV coat protein (CP) genes of these isolates were sequenced. Overall sequence identities were 99.84% (nucleotide) and 99.76% (amino acid). Presence of a previously unreported single nucleotide and amino acid variation conserved in all of these clones suggests a possible association with seed transmission of these 'S' isolates. A phylogenetic tree constructed using ASGV CP nucleotide sequences showed that isolate S sequences were grouped with Korean, Chinese, Indian isolates from apple and Indian isolates from kiwi.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.220-228
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• 2022

Pollen is a vector for viral transmission. Pollenmediated viruses cause serious economic losses in the fruit industry. Despite the commercial importance of pollen-associated viruses, the diversity of such viruses is yet to be fully explored. In this study, we performed metatranscriptomic analyses using RNA sequencing to investigate the viral diversity in imported apple and kiwifruit pollen. We identified 665 virus-associated contigs, which corresponded to four different virus species. We identified one virus, the apple stem grooving virus, from pear pollen and three viruses, including citrus leaf blotch virus, cucumber mosaic virus, and lychnis mottle virus in kiwifruit pollen. The assembled viral genome sequences were analyzed to determine phylogenetic relationships. These findings will expand our knowledge of the virosphere in fruit pollen and lead to appropriate management of international pollen trade. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of pollen-associated viruses in fruit trees should be further investigated.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2020

The investigation of the infection rate of domestic apple orchards by four types of apple viruses (Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus [ACLSV], Apple stem pitting virus [ASPV], Apple stem grooving virus [ASGV], Apple mosaic virus [ApMV]) and one type of viroid (Apple scar skin viroid, ASSVd) found that most apple trees were infected with viruses and viroid at the rate of 97.3%. By region, the infection rate in Jeongseon stood at 98.8%, Danyang at 100%, Yesan at 100%, Jangsu at 89.1%, and Muju at 98.1%. By each virus and viroid, the infection rate of ASGV was the highest at 93.4%, followed by ASPV at 85.7%, ACLSV at 59.0%, ASSVd at 6.7%, and ApMV at the lowest 3.6%. In addition, 84.8% of the cases were infected with two or more types of viruses and viroid, nearly seven times the single type infection rate of 12.4%, and the cases infected with three viruses, ASPV, ACLSV, and ASGV accounted for 56.2%, more than the half the total number of trees investigated.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.258-267
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• 2021

Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia) is a widely cultivated and commercially important fruit crop, which is occasionally subject to severe economic losses due to latent viral infections. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine and provide a comprehensive overview of virus populations infecting a major pear cultivar ('Singo') in Korea. From June 2017 to October 2019, leaf samples (n = 110) of pear trees from 35 orchards in five major pear-producing regions were collected and subjected to RNA sequencing. Most virus-associated contigs matched the sequences of known viruses, including apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) and apple stem pitting virus (ASPV). However, some contigs matched the sequences of apple green crinkle-associated virus and cucumber mosaic virus. In addition, three complete or nearly complete genomes were constructed based on transcriptome data and subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Based on the number of virus-associated reads, ASGV and ASPV were identified as the dominant viruses of 'Singo.' The present study describes the virome of a major pear cultivar in Korea, and looks into the diversity of viral communities in this cultivar. This study can provide valuable information on the complexity of genetic variability of viruses infecting pear trees.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2019

Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), and Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) are economically important viruses that infect pear tree species worldwide. To evaluate the prevalence of these viruses in Korea, we investigated infection degree of three viruses and one viroid for the commercial nursery trees of the pear cultivars, Niitaka, Chuwhang, Wonwhang, and Whasan in 2017 and 2018. The results showed that the infection ratio of ACLSV, ASPV, ASGV, and ASSVd for the scion of pear cultivar Niitaka was 10%, 45%, 77%, and 50%, respectively. From the scion of pear cultivar Chuwhang, infection ratios of ASPV, ASGV, and ASSVd were found to be 70%, 50%, and 60%, respectively. From the scion of pear cultivar Whasan, infection ratios of ACLSV, ASPV, ASGV and ASSVd were found to be 40%, 60%, 93%, and 20%, respectively. From the root stock of pear cultivar Wonwhang, infection ratios of ACLSV, ASPV, ASGV, and ASSVd showed 28%, 57%, 100%, and 14%, respectively. ASGV had the highest recorded infection rate, and ACLSV was characterized by the lowest infection rate. The mixed infection ratio of Niitaka, Chuwhang, Whasan, and Wonwhang was 45%, 60%, 70%, and 85%, respectively.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.44-52
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• 2011

Field surveys were conducted in 45 stone fruit orchards in seven districts of Isparta Province located in western Mediterranean region of Turkey important for stone fruit production. Leaf samples were collected from 175 trees showing virus-like symptoms. These samples were first tested by ELISA for five different RNA viruses including Apple mosaic ilarvirus (ApMV), Prunus necrotic ringspot ilarvirus (PNRSV), Prune dwarf ilarvirus (PDV), Plum pox potyvirus (PPV), Apple chlorotic leafspot trichovirus (ACLSV). While no ApMV and PPV infection was found, 46, 24 and 16 samples were tested positive for PDV, ACLSV and PNRSV, respectively, in ELISA showing about 45% of symptomatic trees in the region were infected with at least one of these viruses. In addition, it was found that nine sweet cherry trees were mixed infected with two or three of these viruses and PDV with an infection rate of 26.3% was the most widespread virus in symptomatic trees in western Mediterranean region. Thirty samples were selected and tested by a multiplex RT-PCR (mRT-PCR) for simultaneous detection of these viruses. While PPV was not detected, more than half of the tested 20 samples were individually or mixed infected with ApMV, ACLSV, PNRSV and PDV. The mRT-PCR results were confirmed by detection of these viruses individually in some of the field samples using RT-PCR with primes specific to each virus. Comparison of ELSA and mRT-PCR results of 30 samples showed that numbers of infected and mixed infected samples as well as infection and mixed infection rates were significantly higher in RT-PCR (20 and 66.7%) than in ELISA (14 and 46.7%). The results confirm that mRT-PCR is more sensitive than ELISA.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.288-293
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• 2013

In worldwide, viral diseases of apple plants has caused the serious problems like reduced production and malformation of fruits. Also, the damages of apple plants by virus and/or viroid infection (Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus, Apple stem grooving virus, Apple mosaic virus, and Apple scar skin viroid) were reported in Korea. However there is few report about the protection approach against the infection by apple viruses. Therefore, this paper introduced the experimental protocol for the development of virus-free apple cultivars (Danhong, Hongan, Saenara, Summerdream). Apple plants were treated at $37^{\circ}C$ for 4 weeks and shoot tips were cultured in vitro. After heat treatment, the detection of apple viruses was performed by RT-PCR using virusspecific detection primers in new apple cultivars. With the heat treatments followed by in vitro shoot tip culture, the proportion of virus-free stocks of 'Danhong', 'Hongan', 'Saenara', and 'Summerdream' was 28%, 16%, 12%, and 12%, respectively. Taken together, this approach can be a good tool for production of virus-free apple stocks.

• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.355-362
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• 2017

The 4 viruses, the Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), and Apple mosaic virus (ApMV) and 1 viroid, Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) are known major viral pathogens of apple trees in Korea. Infection degree of the 5 viral pathogens in the commercial nursery trees of major apple cultivars, 'Hongro', 'Fuji' and bud mutation of 'Fuji' was investigated. Infection ratio of the ACLSV, ASPV and ASGV for scion of an apple cultivar 'Hongro' were 100%, 81.3% and 100%, respectively. On the other hand, no infection for either ApMV and ASSVd detected. For the root stock of the cultivar, infection ratio of ACLSV, ASPV and ASGV showed 87.5%, 81.3% and 100% as well as ApMV and ASSVd were 12.5% and 6.3%, respectively. From the scion of apple cultivars 'Fuji' and bud mutation of 'Fuji', infection ratio of ACLSV, ASPV and ASGV showed 86.7%, 86.7% and 100%, respectively. Whereas, no infection for either ApMV or ASSVd detected. From the root stock of the cultivars, infection ratio of ACLSV, ASPV and ASGV showed 86.7%, 93.3% and 93.3% as well as ApMV and ASSVd were 12.5% and 6.3%, respectively. Result of our study indicates that most of commercial nursery apple trees were supplied with multiple infections by apple viruses causing potential losses for apple growers and, henceforth, agricultural policy for supply of the virus-free trees should be employed as soon as possible.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.228-235
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• 2019

Apple (Malus pumila) is one of the most economically important fruits in Korea. but virus infection has decreased the sustainable production of apples and caused serious problems such as yield loss and poor fruit quality. Virus or viroid infection including apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), apple stem pitting virus (ASPV), apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), apple mosaic virus (ApMV) and apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) have been also reported in Korea. In many cases, as apple gets infected with virus and viroid with no specific symptoms, the damage and symptoms caused by the viruses are not detected. In our research, viruses in the rootstock were eliminated for a virus-free apple dwarfing rootstock of M.9 and M.26. The virus elimination methods were apical meristem culture, thermotherapy ($37^{\circ}C$, 6 weeks) and chemotherapy($Ribavirin^{(R)}$). The detection of apple viruses was accomplished by Enzyme-linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay (ELlSA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RT- PCR method was 10 ~ 30% more sensitive than the ELISA method. The efficiency of virus elimination was enhanced in apical meristem culture method. The acquisition rate of virus-free apple dwarfing rootstocks was 30 ~ 40% higher in apical meristem culture. After the meristem culturing of M.9, the infection ratio of ACLSV, ASPV and ASGV was 45%, 60% and 50%, respectively. In the apple dwarfing rootstock of M.26, the infection ratio of ACLSV, ASPV and ASGV was 40%, 55% and 55%, respectively. Based on this study, the best method for the production of virus-free apple dwarfing rootstocks was the apical meristem culture.