Detection of Potato Y virus in pepper growing areas in Isparta province

This study was conducted between 2022-2023 to determine Potato Y Virus (PVY) in pepper growing areas in Isparta province. For his purpose; mechanical inoculation to indicator plants, DAS-ELISA (Double Antibody Sandwich Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay) and RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase Polimerase Chain Reaction) were used in this study. A total of 184 pepper plants were collected from fields and all samples were tested for PVY using specific antiserum in DAS-ELISA. 33 samples were found to be infected with PVY. PVY infection ratio was determined in 17.93% of field samples. Leaf samples that tested positive for PVY in the DAS-ELISA test were subsequently utilized in mechanical inoculation, total RNA isolation, and RT-PCR studies. Typical symptoms for PVY were observed as a result of mechanical inoculation to sensitive test plants. In RT-PCR studies, specific primer pairs were used for PVY and 801 bp fragments of PVY representing the coat protein region was amplified and observed on agarose gel electrophoresis. In this study, the presence of PVY was revealed for the first time in pepper production areas in Isparta province.