Amer J of Potato Res (1999) 76:191-197 191 Distribution of Tobacco Rattle Wlrus in Tubers of Resistant and Susceptible Potatoes and Systemic Movement of Virus into Daughter Plants James M. Crosslin, Peter E. Thomas*, and Charles R. Brown USDA-ARS, 24106 N. Bunn Rd., Prosser, WA 99350. *Corresponding author. Peter E. Thomas; ph. (509) 786-9249; fax (509) 786-9277; email:
[email protected]. ABSTRACT Ploeg eta/., 1992). In potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), TRV incites a disease called spralng or corky ringspot (CRS), char- Fifty-nine potato cultivars or breeding clones were acterized by internal discoloration which may form arcs or planted near Umatilla, OR and/or Pasco, WA, in fields circles. The affected tissue may have a corky texture and known to be infested with tobacco rattle virus (TRV) symptoms may be visible on the tuber surface (Harrison and and vector nematodes, Paratrichodorus allius Jen. Robinson, 1986). The virus may be present in asymptomatic (Sid.). Tubers from these field plots were cut and tissues of CRS-affected tubers of at least one cultivar (Cross- examined for corky ringspot (CRS) symptoms. Reverse lin and Thomas, 1995). transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Potatoes grown from TRV-infected tubers may become TRV was conducted on tissue samples from sympto- systemically infected and occasionally produce "stem mot- matic and asymptomatic tubers. Sixty-five percent of tle" symptoms where one or a few stems exhibit varying the symptomatic and 42% of the asymptomatic tissue degrees of mottling and discoloration. Systemic movement samples from CRS symptomatic tubers contained of TRV, however, occurs infrequently (Oswald and Bowman, detectable TRV.