Removing Plant Viruses by 'Heat and Cold Therapy'

Viral diseases are one of the major constraints in production of major crops worldwide. Viruses are particularly problematic in vegetatively propagated crops like potato, banana and plantain, which are transferred from generation to generation in the planting materials. Production and maintenance of virus-free planting materials is pivotal for the effective control of viral diseases.

A group of scientists from Japan, China and Finland has developed a novel procedure for eliminating viruses from planting materials. The scientists employed a combination of thermotherapy and cryotherapy, wherein plant materials were exposed to extreme temperatures. Using the procedure, the scientists were able to successfully eliminate Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) from its host plant. High temperature caused cellular damages, such as vacuole enlargement, in virus-infected cells. The infected cells were largely eliminated after subsequent cryo-treatment. It has been known that that the efficiency of virus eradication in a given host species differs depending on the virus and the host genotype. The use of ‘heat’ and ‘cold’ therapy to augment conventional virus eradication schemes should increase the success rate in healthy plant production. Another advantage is that materials exposed to cryo-treatment can be simultaneously prepared for long-term preservation.

The free Technical Advance article published by the journal Molecular Plant Pathology is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1364-3703.2007.00456.x