Molecular diagnostics for detection of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) using RT-PCR

Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) is a pathogen that can cause great economic damage to agriculture. Potatoes infected with PSTVd are stunted in growth, and over time the plants become dwarf. In potato plants, the number of stems decreases, the leaves extend from the stem at right angles (symptoms of “Gothic”). The leaves become smaller and become sickle-shaped and ivy-leafed. Tubers of infected potato plants are significantly reduced in size and deformed. They acquire an elongated fusiform or pear-shaped (dumbbell-shaped) shape. The number of tubers themselves decreases. During storage, diseased tubers are often affected by various types of rot. Visual identification of diseased plants and tubers is possible only when affected by a severe strain and at later stages of disease development. Not all tubers of infected plants exhibit all or even any of the listed symptoms; the disease may be asymptomatic. Therefore, it is very important to identify the disease at an early stage. Detection of this pathogen is carried out in laboratory conditions using the PCR method. Currently, due to the lack of effective methods for treating potatoes from PSTV, PCR methods for diagnosing the viroid are of great importance to prevent its further spread. For the first time in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, molecular diagnostics of PSTVd, the causative agent of potato disease, was carried out. Detection at the early stages of infestation is of great importance to prevent crop losses.