Detection and Elimination of Four Viruses in Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.)

Carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus L.) is one of the most popular cut flowers throughout the world. However, it is seriously damaged by virus infection. Four viruses were detected and eliminated from three popular carnation cultivars (‘Master’, ‘Pink’ and ‘Liberty’). The coat protein gene sequence-based primers were designed and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was optimized for the detection of four viruses: Carnation mottle virus (CarMV), Carnation ring spot virus (CRSV), Carnation latent virus (CLV) and Carnation necrotic fleck virus (CNFV). The detection sensitivity level of this method was up to pg 10-12. The PCR product homologous sequences were compared with most isolate nucleotides in GenBank, and no significant differences were found. The nucleotide sequence homology of CarMV, CRSV, CLV and CNFV was more than 88%. Chemotherapy, thermotherapy and microapical culture were applied to eliminate viruses, and virus-free plants from the three cultivars were obtained. Chemotherapy was found to be the most efficient way for virus elimination due to its short duration, high efficiency and practicability.