Graft-Transmissible Diseases of Ribes – Pathogens, Impact, and Control

Abstract

This article provides an up-to-date review of disease-causing viruses and phytoplasmas of currants including symptoms, transmission, detection, economic impact, and control measures. Currants are widely cultivated in more than 30 countries in the temperate zones of Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Ribes spp. can be infected by more than 20 virus species and four Candidatus Phytoplasma species, with more to be described in the future. High-throughput sequencing opened a new era of deciphering virus variants and mixed infections, leading to the characterization of several new species. The use of clean propagation material is the basis for control of Ribes graft-transmissible diseases, but this has become a challenging task given the ever-growing number of newly discovered pathogens.