Assessment of the reaction of sweet pepper and potato plants to Potato virus Y (PVY) and Pepper yellow mosaic virus (PepYMV)

• Grant number: 23/17888-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Alberto Marques Rezende
• Grantee: Priscila de Fátima Araújo
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Viral pathogens, especially those of the Potyvirus genus, pose a significant threat to sweet pepper cultivation. PVY, a notable species within the Potyvirus genus, was first identified in potatoes in the 1940s and later in sweet pepper crops in the 1960s. Resistance to PVY was achieved through genetic breeding, but the PVYM strain, also known as PVY-1,2, emerged in the 1980s, capable of overcoming this resistance. More recently, the discovery of pepper yellow mosaic virus (PepYMV) in sweet pepper in Brazil introduced additional challenges, as its symptoms resemble those of PVY. This makes the identification and distinction between PVY and PepYMV in the field more complex, leading to the hypothesis that PepYMV may have coexisted with PVY before emerging as the most important virus in sweet peppers. This work aims to investigate whether isolates of PVY, originating from potatoes, can infect sweet pepper plants. The reaction of potato plants to infection with PepYMV isolates will also be evaluated.