Detection, Characterization, and Monitoring of Plum pox virus in Zonguldak Province

Plum pox virus (PPV) was first found in Turkey in 1968 in Edirne province, and then detected in different regions of the country. A total of 2539 samples were collected in Zonguldak province between 2019-2021 to investigate the presence of PPV within the scope of national surveys. It was determined that six plum trees belonging to the same home garden were infected with PPV by DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR. Partial sequences of 1533 bp including P3, 6K1, CI, and CP regions belonging to six PPV-isolates were deposited to GenBank. BlastN analysis showed that sequences of Zonguldak PPV-isolates had the highest sequence similarity at the nucleotide level with PPV-M isolates. It was observed that the infected isolates were clustered with the PPV-M strain in the phylogenetic tree generated by Maximum Likelihood (ML), Maximum Parsimony (MP), and Bayesian Inference (BI) methods. After eradication of the infected trees, systematic surveys and laboratory analyses (serological and molecular) carried out in the same location and in the whole province continued for two years. Within the framework of strict and intensive monitoring surveys and as a result of laboratory analyses, stone fruit orchards and residential sites in Zonguldak province were eliminated from PPV, and a buffer zone was established in an area of 1 km. The cultivation and planting of Prunus species in the buffer zone were prohibited for 3 years, and as a result of follow up and monitoring studies, the region was ensured to be virus-free.