According to the Mehr news agency, citing the Presidential Vice President for Science, Technology and Knowledge-Based Economy, the doctoral dissertation on the identification of viruses infecting tea plants in the main production areas in Iran using sequencing was carried out by Fereshte Esmailzadeh and with the guidance of Daoud Kolivand, in the Virology Laboratory of the Plant Medicine Department of Zanjan University and with the support of the National Science Foundation of Iran.
This research, relying on the advanced sequencing technology of the new generation as one of the new biotechnology tools, has identified and monitored the viruses infecting the tea plant in the main cultivation areas of this product in the country. The use of this technology allows the simultaneous and precise identification of known and unknown pathogenic agents, and it is considered an efficient approach based on genomic data, especially in diseases with unknown etiology.
Esmailzadeh, a doctoral student in plant virology from Zanjan University, said about the necessity of implementing this project: Considering the economic importance of the tea plant in the northern provinces of the country and the observation of signs indicating the presence of viral pathogens in gardens, while the exact causes of these symptoms were unknown, RNA sequencing technology was used to comprehensively identify the viruses involved.
He added: Despite the report of TPNRBV virus in the tea plantations of Mazandaran province and its potential threat to the country’s tea industry, until now, detailed information about the Iranian isolates of this virus and its genetic diversity was not available. In this research, in addition to the identification of existing viruses, the genetic structure and diversity of isolates of this virus were also examined, which can be a basis for designing more precise control strategies.
According to this researcher, tea plant is one of the strategic products of the northern regions of Iran, which plays an important role in the local economy and farmers’ livelihood. By targeting the leaves, as the main economic part of this plant, viruses can lead to early leaf fall, reduced growth, general weakness of the plants, and a noticeable drop in yield and product quality; This is a serious threat to the sustainability of tea production.
This plan is the first national study that monitors the viral health of Iran’s tea gardens with an approach based on genomic data and the use of modern biotechnology technologies. In this research, not only the infecting viruses were identified, but also the most important dominant virus in the main cultivation areas was determined and its genetic diversity was analyzed; An action that can lead to the development of accurate diagnostic kits, breeding programs for the production of resistant cultivars and the design of disease management policies.
In the end, Ismailzadeh emphasized: The data obtained from this research has created a valuable genomic database in the field of tea plant viruses, which is available to plant health custodians, agricultural promoters, and researchers. This information can be the basis of scientific planning to manage diseases, improve productivity and ensure the stability and quality of the country’s tea industry.
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