New host for raspberry bushy dwarf virus: Arctic bramble (Rubus arcticus)

Raspberry bushy dwarf virus (RBDV) was detected in three new host plants in Rubus species, i.e., arctic bramble (R. arcticus sap. arcticus), Alaskan arctic bramble (R. arcticus ssp. stellatus) and their hybrid (R. arcticus L. nothosubsp. stellarcticus G. Larsson). The virus was identified as RBDV by the symptoms elicited in the test plants Chenopodium quinoa and C. amaranticolor, by sedimentation profile in sucrose density gradient, by RNA banding pattern in agarose gel electrophoresis, by protein analysis of the purified viruses in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and by Western blotting. There was a high incidence of RBDV-infected plants in the experimental plots. The presence of the virus in arctic bramble did not always induce foliar symptoms. However, yellowing of the leaves around central and lateral veins was quite frequently observed, especially in spring and autumn.