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411 Directory for Potato VirusesBy Tara
Weaver-Missick March 2, 2000 . If a plant pathologist, breeder,
geneticist, or grower discovers an unusual disease in a potato, they may be
able to find out what it is by consulting the Agricultural Research
Services Schultz Potato Virus Collection. Researchers throughout the world have compared their infected plants with
those maintained in the Schultz collection, started in 1916 at Aroostook State
Farm at Presque Isle, Maine. Now, after more than 80 years, the collection contains progeny from the
original infected plants. The collection includes 17 distinct viruses,
including mild mosaic, apical leafroll, calico mosaic, Aucuba mosaic, leaf
rolling mosaic, latent virus, rugose mosaic, spindle tuber viroid, yellow
dwarf, and yellow spot. Since 1968, plant pathologist Robert W. Goth has been curator of the
collection, now housed at Aroostook Farm and at the ARS
Vegetable Laboratory in
Beltsville, Md. Viruses are maintained in insect-proof cages to avoid contamination by aphid
transmitted diseases and loss of original viruses. Each year the viruses are
grown out in the small, screened-in cages in the field to keep the collection
going for future use. The researchers save four tubers from each cage for
replanting at Aroostook Farm the following year and send the remaining tubers
to Beltsville for further use and study. All of the collections viruses are among the most prevalent in the
United States, Canada and Europe. A new Carla virus, isolated from the potato variety RedLasoda in 1992, was
named Potato Latent virus in 1998. It was added to the collection last year.
Researchers can request samples of any virus for study. More information on this research appears in the March issue of Agricultural Research magazine. Scientific contact: Robert W. Goth, ARS Vegetable Laboratory,
Beltsville, Md.; phone (301) 504- 5953, fax (301) 504-5555,
[email protected]. U.S. Department of Agriculture | |