Student 10-Minute Presentation
Plant-Insect Ecosystems
Student
Student Competition
Mandeep Tayal
Graduate Assistant
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
Elise Schnabel
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
Christopher Wilson
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Elizabeth J. Cieniewicz (she/her/hers)
Assistant Professor
Clemson University
Clemson, South Carolina
Pollen-mediated virus transmission is a common problem in fruit crops. Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) and prune dwarf virus (PDV) are pollen-borne ilarviruses of important stone fruit crops, including peaches, which can result in substantial yield losses. Our two-year survey of peach orchards demonstrates that bees carry PNRSV and PDV-infected pollen during bloom and move along orchard blocks. Moreover, PNRSV has been found in wild cherry (Prunus serotina) near peach orchards in South Carolina and Georgia. As wild Prunus spp. such as wild cherry are abundant at peach orchard edges, it is still unclear if PNRSV is moving from wild Prunus to peach trees (or vice-versa). We hypothesize that bees could act as a bridge in the movement of pollen-borne viruses between wild hosts and peach orchards with the resemblance of PNRSV isolates in bee pollen samples with known PNRSV isolates found in cultivated peaches and wild cherries. We also aim to determine what plants the bees visit during the peach bloom period. We sequenced PNRSV coat protein (CP) and plant genes (ITS1 and trnL) amplicons from bee pollen samples using Illumina NovaSeq. Characterizing virus isolates and plant species within bee pollen samples will enhance our understanding of virus movement at the agroecological interface. This work provides insights into the role of bees as a bridge in virus movement at the wild cherry-cultivated peaches interface.