Project Number
GENUS 11-02
Project title
Determination of the incidence of GVE in diseased vineyards of the Stellenbosch region.
Project leader
Burger, J T
Institution
University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Health Sciences. Department of Genetics
Team members
De Koker, W
Burger, J T
Maree, H J
Spreeth, N
Oosthuizen, T
Louw, R
Joubert, J
Project description
Recently, a new grapevine infecting virus, grapevine virus E (GVE), a member of the genus Vitivirus, was detected in South African vineyards by the Vitis Laboratory (project GENUS 8-01). The virus was detected randomly in vines from two locations in the Western Cape wine producing region. The role and impact of this virus in grapevine disease(s) is unknown at present. It is speculated that GVE is not a recently evolved virus but has been present in South African vineyards and possibly worldwide for a long time. It has not been associated with a disease as due to our unawareness of its existence and lacking detection protocols.
This project aims to determine the incidence of GVE, its possible involvement in disease complexes and to develop standard RT-PCR and qRT-PCR detection protocols for GVE in South African vineyards. In collaboration with industry partners, a strong focus will be given to detection of GVE in mother block and nursery material but also to its possible involvement in disease complexes. Additionally, it is aimed to the transfer GVE to a herbaceous host (N. benthamiana) to allow virus purification. Purified viruses can be used in a follow up project to develop a serological detection assay like ELISA if the need arises.
Poster(s)
De Koker, W C, Bester, R, Jooste, A E C, Maree, H J, Coetzee, B, Stephan, D, Freeborough, M-J and Burger, J T. 2012. Sequencing and prevalence of grapevine virus E in South African vineyards. Poster presented at the 17th International Council for the Study of Virus and Virus-like Diseases of the Grapevine Conference. 8-14 October, Davis, California, United States.
Presentation(s)
De Koker, W C, Coetzee, B, Maree, H J, Bester, R, Nel, Y, Stephan, D, Freeborough, M-J and Burger, J T. 2010. Investigation into the incidence of grapevine virus E in South African vineyards. Paper presented at the 32nd National Congress of the South African Society for Enology and Viticulture. 12 November, Somerset West, South Africa.
De Koker, W C, Bester, R, Jooste, A E C, Maree, H J, Coetzee, B, Stephan, D, Freeborough, M-J and Burger, J T. 2012. Determining the incidence of grapevine virus E in South African vineyards. Paper presented at the 34th National Congress of the South African Society for Enology and Viticulture. 14-16 November, Somerset West, South Africa.