Résumé
A
Potato virus Y (PVY) single nucleotide polymorphism (A/G
2213), recently identified as a molecular determinant of the tobacco leaf necrosis symptom induced by PVY
N isolates, has been used as a target to develop two PVY group-specific (PVY
N and PVY
O) fluorescent (TaqMan
®-based) real-time RT-PCR assays. These procedures allow detection, characterisation, and quantitation of a wide range of PVY isolates in samples containing 10
3–10
8 viral transcripts. Moreover, the high specificity of these two new assays make the simultaneous detection and the reliable quantitation of PVY
N and PVY
O isolates in mixed solutions, regardless of the Y
N/Y
O ratio, feasible. The high sensitivity (threshold of 10
3 copies per reaction) and the PVY group specificity of these two new PVY detection tools clearly improve previously published PVY detection tests and offer new opportunities for PVY research programs.