Plant Biotechnology Unit
at the IAM, BOKU
Research projects
Cross protection:
Detection du Virus de la Sharka et lutte genetique contre la maladie chez les Prunus.
Detection du Virus de la Sharka et lutte genetique contre la maladie chez les Prunus.
Duration: 1991-1994
Supported by: BMWF
This project was part of an EC-project in the frame of CAMAR entitled "Detection du Virus de
la Sharka et lutte genetique contre la maladie chez les Prunus".
In the frame of this project a breeding strategy against Sharka-disease (PPV)
of stone fruits involving biotechnological tools was developed. In Austria there exists a great
urgency for
stone fruits to conserve and improve many valuable local selections and genotypes, which are threatened by
infection with Sharka disease.
The use of virus specific sequences, which are transferred by Agrobacterium into the plant genome,
allows to reach a protection against a subsequent viral infection. In herbaceous model plants this
could be demonstrated as well with the coat protein gene, as well as with other sequences
from the viral genome. The transfer of the coat protein gene of PPV has also been achieved into woody
target plants, apricot and plum. For this the working group was awarded the ÖGBT-Prize.
Rev.1.0 by Siegfried Huss