Characterization of the virome of potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L.) in Brazil and improvement of the diagnosis of acellular infectious agents

• Grant number: 24/22173-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Juliana de Freitas Astúa
• Grantee: Gianluca de Lima Michea Gonzalez
• Host Institution: Instituto Biológico (IB). Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/11965-3 - Center for the sustainable management of pests, diseases and weeds, AP.CCD

Abstract

The potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a plant native to the Andes Mountain range in South America. Its cultivation extends globally due to its short cycle, high productivity, nutritional value, and the culinary versatility of its tuber. The potato is considered the third largest food source for humanity, and, in Brazil, it contributes to food security and the agricultural economy. Brazilian potato farming suffers from insufficient seed tuber production and the incidence of various acellular infectious agents (AIAs - which include viruses and viroids) that can potentially affect up to 50% of production. Both the AIAs already present in the country and those that could be introduced from nearby regions and tuber-seed exporting countries could easily spread via tubers and/or through different vectors. This project aims to characterize the potato virome in Brazil and, consequently, improve or develop tests for the diagnosis of agents with the highest economic and epidemiological relevance. Potato leaf samples will be collected from various agricultural regions, and the nucleic acid extracts will be sequenced using high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies. Bioinformatic analyses will be conducted to identify the present AIAs and their phylogeography. With the identified genomes, specific primers will be designed to validate HTS results and optimize detection methods. One-step quantitative tests for the multiplex detection of pathogens through a coupled reverse transcription and PCR reaction (one-step RT-qPCR) will be developed. The specific identification of pathogens will occur through the analysis of the dissociation temperature curves of the generated amplicons. The execution of the project will contribute to the expansion of phytosanitary knowledge of the potato crop in Brazil, the indication of possible routes for the introduction of new AIAs into the country, and the generation of accurate tools for detecting prevalent or quarantine-relevant causal agents.