Detection of potato mop-top virus in potato tubers and sprouts: combinations of RNA2 and RNA3 variants and incidence of symptomless infections.

Potato mop-top virus (PMTV, genus Pomovirus) causes severe quality problems by inducing necrotic arcs (spraing symptoms) in potato tubers. In this study, coat protein (CP) gene and read-through domain of RNA2 and 8K gene and 3' untranslated region of RNA3 were characterized from 37 PMTV isolates detected in tubers from fields in Finland and a screenhouse in Latvia. Two distinguishable types of RNA2 and RNA3 were found, each showing only little genetic variability.

Uncovering the post-embryonic role of embryo essential genes in Arabidopsis using the controlled induction of visibly marked genetic mosaics: EMB506, an illustration.

The embryo essential gene EMB506 plays a crucial role in the transition of the Arabidopsis embryo from radial symmetry to bilateral symmetry just prior to the early heart stage of development. In addition to influencing embryo development EMB506 also affects chloroplast biogenesis. To further investigate the role of EMB506 gene expression in Arabidopsis we have generated green fluorescent protein (GFP) marked emb506 mosaic sectors at temporally defined stages during embryogenesis and additionally during various stages of vegetative growth, in otherwise phenotypically wild-type plants.