SYMPTOMS, TRANSMISSION, AND DETECTION OF FOUR NEW ROSE VIRUSES

Four previously undescribed viruses infecting cultivated roses were identified and fully characterized in Minnesota. These four viruses were transmitted by grafting from infected to healthy roses and found to be the likely causal agents of the diseases with which they are associated. Viruses were provisionally named after the characteristic symptoms in infected plants as follows: Rose yellow vein virus (RYVV), Rose yellow mosaic virus (RoYMV), Rosa rugosa leaf distortion virus (RrLDV), and Rose yellow leaf virus (RYLV). Unlike the currently known viruses that affect rose, the ilarviruses and the nepoviruses, that only show symptoms and are detected early in the growing season, these new viruses exhibit symptoms throughout the season and can be detected readily during the entire year. Based on virion and genome properties it was determined that RYVV is a member of the family Caulimoviridae, RoYMV is a member of the family Potyviridae, and RrLDV and RYLV are members of the family Tombusviridae. Reliable diagnostic protocols were developed for each virus: PCR for RYVV; RT-PCR for RoYMV, RrLDV, and RYLV; and immunosorbent electron microscopy (ISEM) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for RoYMV detection.