Inhibited Long-Distance Movement of Potato Leafroll Virus to Tubers in Potato Genotypes Expressing Combined Resistance to Infection, Virus Multiplication and Accumulation

Plants of two potato clones which, in preliminary greenhouse assessments, showed resistance to multiplication and accumulation of potato leafroll virus (PLRV) were graft or aphid inoculated with the virus and grown in the greenhouse; plants of a moderately susceptible cultivar were used for comparison in all experiments. A high concentration of aphid-borne inoculum was used to ensure strong infection pressure. Clone M62759 appeared to be highly resistant to PLRV infection, whereas clone PS1706 was more susceptible. Both clones expressed a high level of resistance to virus multiplication, when primary or secondary infection was assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, PLRV was detected in only few or none of the progeny plants of clone M62759, which thus strongly inhibited virus transport to tubers. The study on PLRV translocation from aphid-inoculated shoots to uninoculated shoots sprouted from the same tubers showed that no specific mechanisms are likely to impair PLRV movement through the tubers of the resistant genotypes. These results indicate that three valuable components of the resistance to PLRV are probably closely linked in the genotype, a combination that seems to occur rather rarely in potato clones. Nevertheless, selecting potato genotypes for the complex resistance to PLRV may prove to be a worthwhile part of breeding programmes, provided that the genetic mechanisms governing particular types of resistance are better recognized.