Control Strategies for Peanut Viruses: Transgenic Resistance, Natural Resistance, and Virus Variability

Approach

The goal of UGA 28P was to develop groundnut rosette disease (for Malawi) and tomato spotted wilt virus disease resistant varieties through transgenic and naturally occurring resistant germplasm.

Achievements

One long-season, rosette virus-resistant variety has already been identified for use in Malawi and will be released shortly. Seed is currently being multiplied. Short-duration rosette virus-resistant germplasm lines have been identified in the ICRISAT/Malawi program. These have been evaluated in on station trials and are now being evaluated in on-farm trials in Malawi and Zambia. Preparation is being made for multiplying seed for deployment to farmers. The project is collaborating with the ICRISAT/Malawi program, which has USAID funding for seed multiplication. This will greatly facilitate rapid deployment of these cultivars. This project was designed to provide “seed funding” to establish a revolving fund to enable multiplication of future releases. In Athens, Georgia, 21 regenerated plants in the greenhouse will be analyzed by PCR, Southern Blotting and Northern Blotting techniques for the Groundnut Rosette Virus Disease-Groundnut Rosette Assistor Virus, coat protein gene and its expression. Selected transformants expressing the assistor virus coat protein gene will then go through seed multiplication and be evaluated in Malawi. Some aspects of the evaluation may also be done at the Scottish Crops Research Institute, Scotland (a non-peanut producing country), where there is a chance for the virus to spread to the U.S. Presently, the rosette virus is confined to Africa.

Focus

Production efficiency