• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.401-408
• /
• 2017

Herein, we report the meristem-tip culture from dormant buds of grape 'Kyoho' single-infected with Grapevine fleck virus (GFkV), which is phloem-limited and transmitted by graft inoculation. We produced GFkV-free shoots without thermo- or chemotherapy using meristem-tip explants approximately 0.3 mm (73 explants) and 0.8 mm long (five explants) including shoot apical meristem, 2-5 leaf primordia, and 1-4 uncommitted primordia from dormant buds of the infected woody cuttings (stored at $4^{\circ}C$). Explants were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3% sucrose, 3.0 mg/L benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). After 16 weeks of culture, shoot (10-mm long) regeneration frequency achieved from 0.3-mm explants was 4.1% and that obtained from 0.8-mm explants was 40.0%. Virus-free efficiency (expressed as the percentage of RT-PCR negative shoots regenerated) from 0.3- and 0.8-mm explants was 100% and 50%, respectively. Following in vitro multiplication, RT-PCR assays revealed identical results to assays of the first regenerated shoots. Our new methodological approach could be applied for eliminating other viruses in grapevines, as well as for producing virus-free plants in many other deciduous tree species, including fruit trees.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
• /
• v.44 no.4
• /
• pp.379-387
• /
• 2017

Various sizes (0.2 ~ 1.2 mm) and developmental stages (referred to as Stage 1 ~ 3) of apical and lateral meristems were excised, together or separately, directly from dormant buds of apple 'Hongro'. They were mixed infected by Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd), Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) and Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), which are major viruses attacking apples. A total of 31 callus lines (> 10 mm in diameter) were obtained by culturing the explants on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 3% sucrose, 3.0 mg/L benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 mg/L indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), and they were subjected to RT-PCR analysis for virus detection. A high rate of virus elimination (expressed as the percentage of calli that did not amplify during RT-PCR, i.e., RT-PCR negative calli per total number of calli obtained) was achieved for ACLSV (100%), ASSVd (93.7%), and ASPV (93.7%), whereas it was only 25.8% for ASGV. ASPV was detected in the presence of 2 ~ 3 bracts. Simultaneous virus elimination of ASSVd, ASPV, ACLSV, and ASGV occurred during the meristem culture, in which the early stages of the dormant buds (Stage 1) were used, because ASGV was mostly eliminated during that stage. The results of the present study will be valuable for the production of virus-free apple trees.