Prevalence Of Rna Viruses In Seeds, Plantlets, And Adult Plants Of Cape Gooseberry (Physalis Peruviana) In Antioquia (Colombia)

Colombia is the largest worldwide producer of Cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.), which is an exotic tropical fruit with increasing high demand in international markets. Unfortunately, the rapid expansion of this crop has occurred without implementing adequate surveillance measures that enforce the use of healthy planting material for the establishment of new crops. This study investigated the prevalence of viruses in P. peruviana using seeds, plantlets, and adult plants with or without symptoms typical of viral infection in the province of Antioquia. Detection of viruses by RT-qPCR revealed widespread infection with potato virus Y (PVY), potato virus X (PVX), potato virus S (PVS), Cape gooseberry ilarvirus 1 (CGIV-1), and Physalis vein necrosis virus (PhyVNV), a pro-posed new nepovirus species. Co-infections were also common in all samples tested. Further high-throughput sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of most of these viruses and revealed the presence of a new torra-dovirus (Physalis torrado virus, PhyTV), a new potexvirus (Physalis virus X, PhyVX), and a divergent tobacco mosaic virus isolate. These results reveal that the P. peruviana virome is largely unexplored, and urgent measures should be implemented to certify the health status of planting material, and crops.