Elimination of grapevine fleck virus and grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus from Vitis vinifera 87-1 by ribavirin combined with thermotherapy

Vitis vinifera 87-1 plants infected by grapevine fleck virus(GFkV) and grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus(GRSPaV) were used as the plant materials for virus elimination treatment. This study evaluated the effects of ribavirin at different concentrations(15 and 25 μg mL~(–1); R15 and R25, respectively), thermotherapy(37°C; T), and the combination of ribavirin and thermotherapy(R15+T and R25+T) on eliminating viruses from grapevine plants in vitro. Both R15 and R25 had phytotoxic effects and weakened plant growth. Thermotherapy positively affected the growth of grapevine plants. Plant height was significantly greater in T, R15+T, and R25+T than in CK, R15 and R25. The proportion of dead plants after T, R15+T, and R25+T was 51.4, 11.4, and 8.6%, respectively. The survival rates of regenerated plants after all treatments were 68.0%. Ribavirin concentration and treatment time were related to the regeneration of shoot tips and elimination efficiencies of the two viruses. The survival rates of plants after R15+T for 30, 40, and 50 days were 97.3, 90.7, and 74.4%, respectively. The elimination rates of GRSPaV from plants in the three time quantum were 55.6, 84.6, and 93.8%, respectively. The elimination rate of GFkV was 23.9% higher in R25(35/44) than in R15(25/45), and that of GRSPaV was 7.0% higher in R25 than in R15. The combination of thermotherapy and chemotherapy was found to have a positive effect on the eradication of GFkV and GRSPaV, and R25+T for 50 days was able to completely eliminate the two viruses from in vitro grapevines.