Researchers at Agroscope in Switzerland have successfully cracked the genome of Flavescence dorée, raising hopes that new ways of controlling the serious vine disease may be possible.
Currently, the only options are uprooting infected plants and area-wide insecticide programmes. Agroscope reports: “The decoding will enable us to identify the weak points of the pathogen so that it can be fought more effectively.”
First reported in southwest France in 1949, Flavescence dorée has since spread to other French winegrowing regions, Germany and Italy. Agroscope reports that it appeared for the first time in Switzerland in 2004 in the canton of Ticino and has since been detected in the cantons of Vaud, Valais and Graubünden.
“Affected vines must be removed and destroyed,” reports Agroscope. “In case of infection, measures are taken to combat the cicada species that spreads the disease. Alternatives to the use of insecticides are being sought.”
Agroscope explains that the disease is caused by phytoplasmas. “To eradicate the disease, it is important to understand how the pathogen spreads and what happens to the affected plant,” it says. “That’s why Agroscope researchers have cracked the genetic code of the pathogen.
“Unlike other phytoplasmas, this pathogen has a stable genome structure. This is a critical discovery, since a stable genome means that the weak points also behave in a stable manner. This makes it easier to detect these weak points and use them to eliminate the pathogen.
“The next stage consists of studying the function of the genes revealed by the sequencing of the genome. This helps us understand how the pathogen bypasses a plant’s defences and makes it sick. In addition, the researchers are analysing whether these weak points are found in all vines in Switzerland.”
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