Biology subjects

Olmos, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Olmos, A..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

A highly versatile real-time quantitative RT-PCR method and sampling strategies for the accurate detection of citrus yellow vein clearing virus

Citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV) is the causal agent of an emerging disease representing a potentially high-impact threat for citrus production. Despite remaining outside Europe for decades, CYVCV has now expanded towards two important European citrus producers, Italy and, more recently, Spain. The presence of this virus in the EPPO region represents a current threat with unpredictable and potentially devastating consequences for European citriculture. Therefore, urgent protective measures need to be taken to prevent CYVCV spread and minimize its impact. Diagnostics is a key measure in the management of viral diseases, highlighting the need for harmonized methods suitable for reliable routine detection of the currently known CYVCV diversity. In this study, an inclusive, efficient and highly sensitive real-time RT-qPCR for the detection of CYVCV in plant material and transmission vectors has been developed and validated according to EPPO standards. Moreover, the validated method has been successfully adapted to both PCR digital platforms, that allow high-sensitive absolute quantitative detection, essential in the diagnostics at low viral concentrations; and PCR portable tools, that can be applied in a real diagnostic context for on-site detection. This versatility combines standard validated performance, absolute sensitive quantitation and real on-site detection. The study has also addressed sampling strategies to support reliable molecular diagnostic performance. Our results represent an improvement in the detection of CYVCV to be applied in epidemiological studies and different real diagnostic contexts for the containment of this important citrus pathogen.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2026

High Throughput-based Surveillance Reveals New Components of Spanish Citrus Virome Related to Tristeza, Impietratura and Yellow Vein Clearing Diseases

Citrus is one of the most important crops cultivated worldwide, representing a strategic source of agricultural income for many countries, including Spain, the main producer within the European Union. The protection of this highly valuable industry against an increasing global movement of pests and pathogens requires effective regulatory measures, including control of plant propagation material, phytosanitary surveillance and risk assessment, which are based not only on knowledge of the established threats but also on potential emerging threats affecting citrus that may circulate unnoticed in the production system. In this work, with the aim of generating knowledge on potential emerging viruses in Spanish citrus orchards, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) analysis has been applied to monitor the sanitary status of several growing areas of one of the main citrus producer regions in Spain, the Valencian Community. The results of this study have revealed a much more complex citrus virome than previously reported, including citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV), a non-regulated but harmful citrus virus, as well as the T3 genotype of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) and citrus virus A (CiVA), not detected to date in Spain. Moreover, our results indicate the existence of other unknown components of the citrus virome. HTS detection of CYVCV, CTV T3 and CiVA and their presence in Spanish orchards has been confirmed by RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. These findings have relevant implications in the development of control and regulatory measures against three important viral diseases, tristeza, impietratura and yellow vein clearing diseases, and demonstrate the added value of HTS-based surveillance to discover emerging components of the citrus virome.

molecular biology↗