Apium virus Y

Apium virus Y (AVY) is a plant pathogenic virus ^[1] in the genus Potyvirus and the virus family Potyviridae .

Apium virus Y is a recently described member of the potyvirus family. It was first found in Australia in 2002 ^[2] in poison hemlock (Conium maculatum: an immigrant weed in Australia). A survey of native and weed species in the family Apiaceae found ApVY to be widespread in Australia. In addition, this survey and others found two other potyviruses. One was a well known potyvirus infecting the Apiaceae, Celery mosaic virus (CeMV). CeMV has been found in celery (Apium graveolens) crops worldwide including Australia, New Zealand and the USA.^[3]. The third potyvirus found in these surveys was another previously unknown potyvirus, Carrot virus Y (CarVY).

Geographic distribution

Since its sequence was first deposited in GenBank ^[4], ApVY has been found in Florida ^[5], Washington state ^[6] and California ^[7] in the United States and in New Zealand ^[8]. In New Zealand, it was found in celery in a mixed infection with CeMV.

In Washington state two different strains of ApVY were found, one in domestic celery crops and other in the weed poison hemlock. The one in celery was 98% identical to the Australian nucleotide sequences. The one found in naturally infected poison hemlock was only 91% identical to the sequences from Australia. The later turned out to be 98% identical to the North American isolates found in Florida and California. In turn, the Florida isolate was 90-91% identical to the Australian isolates.

A third strain of this virus has been known in Germany since the early 1990s. Sequences of this virus isolated from parsely (Petroselinum crispum) were 94% identical to the Australian isolate from parsley. (H.-J Vetten, personal communication)

Host Range and Symptoms

In addition to cultivated celery and parsley and the weed poison hemlock, ApVY infections have been identified in sea celery (Apium prostraum), cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), and bishop’s weed (Ammi majus). In Germany it has recently been found natually infecting celeriac or celery root. All are members of the plant family Apiaceae.

Symptoms reported included mosaic, vein clearing or banding, necrotic/chorotic line patterns and stunting. Some samples of parsly, celery and poison hemlock that gave positive results in tests however were asymptomatic.

In host range studies the virus causes local lessions on Chenopodium quinoa and C. amaraticolor (Amaranthaceae).

References

1. ^ About Plant Viruses
2. ^ Moran, J. et al., 2002. Potyviruses, novel and known, in cultivated and wild species of the family Apiaceae in Australia. Arch. Virol 147:1855-1967.
3. ^ Descriptions of Plant Viruses Celery mosaic virus
4. ^ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/viewer.fcgi?db=nuccore&id=15809697
5. ^ Baker, C.A., Rosskopf, E.N., Irey, M.S., Jones, L., Adkins, S.T. 2008. Bidens mottle virus and Apium virus Y identified in Ammi majus in Florida Plant Disease. 92:6:975.
6. ^ K. C. Eastwell, J. R. Glass, L. M. Seymour, and K. J. Druffel. 2008. First Report of Infection of Poison Hemlock and Celery by Apium virus Y in Washington State Plant Disease 92: 1710.
7. ^ T. Tian, H.-Y. Liu, and S. T. Koike. 2008. First Report of Apium virus Y on Cilantro, Celery, and Parsley in California. Plant Dis. 92:1254
8. ^ J. Tang, G. R. G. Clover, and B. J. R. Alexander 2007. First Report of Apium virus Y in Celery in New Zealand Plant Disease 91: 1682.