Viral Interactions Lead to Decline of Blackberry Plants

Blackberry yellow vein disease (BYVD) poses a new threat to the blackberry industry in the United States. Blackberry yellow vein associated virus (BYVaV) was originally thought to be the sole cause of this disease. However, BYVaV has been found in several asymptomatic blackberry cultivars. An unusual member of the family Potyviridae was identified recently from symptomatic plants and named Blackberry virus Y (BVY). BVY has been shown to spread in the field and cause BYVD when co-infected with BYVaV. Both viruses are asymptomatic in single infections but are readily detectable in asymptomatic plants by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). However, in mixed infections, the titer of BYVaV is repressed, sometimes to levels undetectable by RT-PCR, while the concentration of BVY is increased several fold. Electron microscopy revealed a variety of viral inclusions in symptomatic leaf samples, but none could be found in single infections with either BVY or BYVaV. Although BYVaV has been consistently associated with BYVD in different geographical regions, the detection of BVY has thus far been restricted to northwest Arkansas. It has been hypothesized that BYVaV is the synergistic determinant of BYVD that causes symptoms in different cultivars at various locations during co-infection with other viruses.