A mini-review on in vitro methods for virus elimination from Prunus sp. fruit trees

Abstract Several viruses are known to infect stone fruit trees and cause serious problems in their cultivation; hence, it is essential to use virus-free and healthy propagation material to establish a plantation. As stone fruit trees are propagated vegetatively, both the scion and the rootstock should be pathogen-free. The traditional method for plant virus eradication is meristem culture after in vivo thermotherapy. Prunus species are extremely sensitive to high temperature and have low regeneration capacity from meristem explants which makes it difficult to apply the conventional method. To avoid the application of meristem culture it has become necessary to search for additional methods. The most widespread elimination methods are based on in vitro shoot cultures. It is a challenge to find an optimal method with high efficacy in virus elimination that has little harmful effect on plantlets. In the present study, we collected the elements of current knowledge about viruses and viroids that are able to infect Prunus species and reviewed recent methods that have been used efficiently to eliminate them from Prunus species, applying thermotherapy alone or in combination with shoot tip excision, chemotherapy, cryotherapy or electrotherapy. The key factors influencing the effectivity of virus elimination procedure and in vitro culture survival are also discussed.