Abstract:
Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) infects red raspberry and black raspberry worldwide. Infection causes reduced vigor and drupelet abortion leading to crumbly fruit and reduced yields. While this crumbly fruit can still be used in juice, jam, and preserves, it cannot be used for the more valuable fresh and individually quick frozen (IQF) markets. In 1997, RBDV was first detected in blackberry plants in Aurora, Oregon. When grafting, infected blackberry scions were able to transmit RBDV to healthy raspberries, and infected raspberry scions were able to transmit the virus to healthy blackberries. Sequencing of cloned coat protein genes of the NWREC RBDV isolates revealed little to no difference between the RBDV isolates from raspberry and blackberry. The consensus coat protein gene of the NWREC RBDV is different from that of RBDV isolates from France, Canada, Russia and Scotland. The lack of variability among coat protein genes of RBDV from raspberry and blackberry suggests that mutation in the coat protein did not cause the recent appearance in blackberry.
