Sep 10, 2024 · The devastating plum pox virus has led scientists to create the genetically modified (GM) HoneySweet plum, making it one of only two USDA approved GM fruit trees. Plum pox (also referred to as Sharka disease) is an invasive species in the U.S. and considered the most damaging virus to the plum tree family.

Plum pox is spread from tree to tree by aphids and through infected budwood used for grafting, which is the normal method of propagating stone fruit trees. Symptoms of plum pox infection include leaf and fruit yellowing, fruit deformation, and premature fruit drop.

Researchers used RNAi technology to create a plum variety that’s resistant to devastating Sharka disease caused by plum pox virus. Meet the Honeysweet Plum: A virus-resistant plum that ARS hopes to bring to market soon. They are large and oblong with a very sweet, flavorful taste.

This genetically engineered (GE) fruit has been developed by the scientists of USDA to fight the emerging, invasive plum pox virus, which has infected 100 million trees in Europe and surfaced in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York during the past 12 years.

Plum pox virus (PPV) is the most serious viral disease of the genus Prunus. Because of this, there is a vast amount of literature concerning PPV covering virtually all aspects of this organism’s biology and its interactions with its hosts.

The GM plum, called c5, is genetically altered to resist the mutation of the Plum Pox Virus among stone fruit trees. The virus is considered to be the most serious virus disease of stone fruit, with the potential to devastate stone fruit production.

Mar 1, 2017 · The first genetically modified (GM) plum resistant to PPV was developed in 1994 (Scorza et al. 1994) through a USA-France collaborative research programme (Scorza, personal communication). The PPV-coat protein (CP) gene was engineered into the plum through Agrobacterium-mediated transformation.

Genetically modified fruit trees offer a viable tool in the battle against diseases that have an enormous impact on farmers, the agricultural industry and, ultimately, on consumers, the project’s researchers concluded. The HoneySweet plum has been genetically modified to be resistant to the plum pox virus (PPV).

Sep 19, 2016 · A genetically modified (GM) virus-resistant plum may pave the way for the introduction of other GM fruit trees to Europe. This could help European fruit trees resist the spread of pathogens into new areas due to climate change.

Jan 1, 2021 · ‘HoneySweet’ plum (Prunus domestica) is resistant to Plum pox potyvirus, through an RNAi-triggered mechanism. Determining the precise nature of the transgene insertion event has been...