Columnea latent viroid detected and eradicated in the United Kingdom
As reported in EPPO RS 2008/007, Columnea latent viroid (Pospiviroid, CLVd) was detected in 2007 in the United Kingdom. Further details have recently been published on this finding and its subsequent eradication (Nixon et al., 2009). In May 2007, a diseased tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum cv. ‘Santa’) from a glasshouse crop in North-West England was submitted to the Central Science Laboratory (now Fera) for diagnosis. Symptoms included severe leaf distortion, bronzing and ‘crunchy’ leaf, and laboratory analysis revealed the presence of Columnea latent viroid (Pospiviroid, CLVd). Following this first detection, CLVd was found at 3 further sites in L. esculentum cv. ‘Santa’: one in the same stock at the initial outbreak site, but in a different location; one in North-East England and another in Worcestershire in the West Midlands. CLVd sequence data were identical from all three sampling sites. At one site it was estimated that by the end of the growing season (November 2007), 50-60% of the crop was infected. Phytosanitary measures were immediately taken to control the outbreaks and by the end of the 2008 cropping season, CLVd was declared eradicated from the United Kingdom.
The situation of Columnea latent viroid in the United Kingdom can be described as follows: Absent, detected for the first time in 2007 in tomato production sites, eradicated.
Sources
Nixon T, Glover R, Mathews-Berry S, Daly M, Hobden E, Lambourne C, Harju V, Skelton A (2009) Columnea latent viroid (CLVd) in tomato: the first report in the United Kingdom. New Disease Reports Volume 19 (2009-02 to 2009-08). http://www.bspp.org.uk/publications/new-disease-reports/ndr.php?id=019030