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Little Cherry Virus
(LChV-1, LChV-2)


The first case of little cherry disease (LCD) was recorded in 1933 in British Columbia, Western Canada. The rapid spread in the area indicated an infectious agent of a viral type, and transmission by an efficient arial vector. Indeed, it is transmitted by the apple mealybugs, Phenococcus aceris.

The symptoms resemble those of phytoplasmoses, and particularly peach X disease on cherry. On part or the entire deficient-looking tree, cherries do not grow normal size, mature late, leaves become chlorotic and reddish in summer.

Only cherries are susceptible to the disease. In contaminated areas, wild and ornamental cherries like P. emarginata or P. serrulata can be latently infected.

In 1996, a closterovirus associated with a german isolate of LCD was identified and named LChV. Its complete sequence was determined in 1997. However, there exist different viral strains, LChV-1 and LChV-2, where strain 2 appears to be the virus previously identified to be associated with LCD in Canada.

Little cherry diseases have been observed in Germany, Belgium, UK, the Netherlands and Switzerland, but their relation to the american disease is not known. It has neither been reported from Spain, Italy or France, indicating a certain confinement to northern regions.


Sequence Info (NCBI database)

Isolates in the Vienna Collection

Detection methods



last updated October 8, 2001 by Siegfried.Huss