Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 2 and grapevine 'Pinot gris' virus are present in seedlings developed from seeds of infected grapevine plants

Nearly 80 different viruses belonging to different genera and families have been identified in grapevines, but their seed transmissibility remains largely unclear. Thus, the specific objective of this work is to monitor the presence of viruses in seedlings grown from seeds of virus-infected grapevine plants. Using reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time RT-PCR, we showed the presence of grapevine leafroll-associated virus 2 (GLRaV-2), GLRaV-3, grapevine 'Pinot gris' virus (GPGV), grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (GRSPaV), grapevine virus A (GVA), and grapevine fleck virus (GFkV) in all tested parts including mature cane, leaf, petiole, young shoot, flower, berry skin, and seed of infected grapevine 'Moldova' plants. Furthermore, GLRaV-2 and GPGV were found in all tested seedlings developed from seeds of 'Moldova' plants, while the other four viruses were not detected. Our results provide the first evidence that GLRaV-2 and GPGV can be transmitted to progeny seedlings from seeds of infected grapevine plants.