Resistance to Turnip mosaic virus in cabbage (abstract only)

In white cabbage (Brassica oleracea) Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) infection may cause up to 25% yield loss as well as necrosis during cold storage of the heads. An effective way for plant protection is the establishment of resistance to different TuMV pathotypes in cabbage. TuMV isolates were characterized and resistance screening methods utilizable under greenhouse and field conditions were developed. The search for resistance to TuMV in more than 300 accessions of the Brassicaceae family revealed some new resistance donors. Resistance to different TuMV pathotypes was found in B. oleracea primitive forms, in Chinese cabbage (B. rapa ssp. pekinensis), in horse-radish (Armoracia rusticana), as well as in radish (Raphanus sativus). A high level of resistance to three TuMV pathotypes was detected in sexually developed Raphanobrassica hybrids. Resistance to TuMV in B. oleracea primitive forms could be transferred into white cabbage by crosses. Somatic hybrids between R. sativus and B. oleracea resistant to TuMV were generated by protoplast fusion. The aim of a further prebreeding programme is the stabilization of resistance to TuMV in white cabbage supported by a marker assisted selection.