Occurrence and distribution of stone fruit viruses and viroids in commercial plantings of Prunus species in Western Anatolia, Turkey. Short communication

Symptoms of virus and viroid infections have been observed during the last ten years in stone fruit crops, however, no relative incidences of virus and viroid diseases have been reported on stone fruit crops in western Anatolia, Turkey. Large-scale surveys were conducted from June to August between the years 2004 and 2006 in the main stone fruit growing orchards and mother blocks of western Anatolia to determine the seven most important virus and two important viroid affecting Prunus species. The results of serological (ELISA) and molecular (PCR and tissue-printing molecular hybridization) tests demonstrated the occurrence of Plum pox virus (PPV), Prune dwarf virus (PDV), Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV), Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV), Apple mosaic virus (ApMV), Apricot latent virus (ApLV), Plum bark necrosis stem pitting-associated virus (PBNSPaV), Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd), and Hop stunt viroid (HSVd) in tested 1732 specimens of stone fruits. The overall infection level with these graft-transmissible agents was 30%. The results showed that PDV is predominant in stone fruit crops. To our knowledge, PBNSPaV was reported for the first time in western Anatolia. The results obtained in this study illustrate a need for certification or clean stock program to prevent the occurrence and the spread of graft transmissible agents in western Anatolia

PERSIMMON (DIOSPYROS KAKI L.) AND JOHNSONGRASS [SORGHUMHALEPENSE (L.) PERS.] ARE NEW NATURAL HOSTS OF PEACH LATENT MOSAIC VIROID

Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) naturally infects stone fruits worldwide. Here, we report the first detection of PLMVd in persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) and a weed Johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.]. Samples corresponding to 12 persimmon specimens and weeds nearby the persimmon trees were collected from a germplasm collection plot in Malatya (Turkey). Total RNAs were isolated using a silica-based method and the complete viroid genome was amplified by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). From these samples, PLMVd was detected in 7 of the 12 persimmons and in Johnsongrass revealing 8 new sequence variants. Multiple alignment and phylogenetic analyses revealed that identified persimmon and Johnsongrass isolates clustered only with PLMVd-walnut isolates previously identified from same locality. The nucleotide sequences of PLMVd persimmon and Johnsongrass isolates showed 96.71-99.11% similarity with the PLMVd isolates detected in different fruit crops in the world. A single specific mutation identified in two PLMVd persimmon variants (-TH2 and-TH10) effectively changed the predicted secondary structure of the agent. The identification and the genetic analyses of PLMVd variants in persimmon and Johnsongrass confirm that the agent is a ubiquitous and genetically variable viroid that infects cultivated fruit and weeds worldwide

Use Of Corn Oil In The Production Of Turkish White Cheese

The use of corn oil in white cheese production instead of milk fat was investigated and its effects on the quality parameters of cheese were studied. It was demonstrated that the use of corn oil significantly affected the levels of dry matter, fat in dry matter, protein, salt in dry matter and titratable acidity and pH value of samples (p < 0.05). The water-soluble nitrogen based ripening indices of cheeses increased throughout the ripening period. However, there were not large quantitative differences among the peptide profiles of all the cheese samples. The polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), the polyunsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratios (PUFA/SFA) and total cis fatty acid contents were found to be higher whilst the saturated fatty acid and trans fatty acid content were found to be lower than those of the control cheese (p < 0.05). It was found that the use of corn oil instead of milk fat in cheese production decreased the cholesterol content of the cheese samples (p < 0.05). The sensory scores of corn oil cheese were almost similar to the control cheese. The results indicated that corn oil utilization in cheese production has commercial potential in overcoming the defects related to fat reduction.Wo