In Hawaii, common green ti plants (Cordyline fruticosa L.) have been shown to harbor Cordyline virus 1 (CoV-1) which, along with Little cherry virus 1 (LChV-1), and Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 7 (GLRaV-7), form a distinct clade within the family Closteroviridae. Preliminary work has indicated that, aside from CoV-1, three additional closteroviruses may infect common green ti plants in H...

Important progress in understanding replication, interactions with host plants, and evolution of closteroviruses enabled engineering of several vectors for gene expression and virus-induced gene silencing. Due to the broad host range of closteroviruses, these vectors expanded vector applicability to include important woody plants such as citrus and grapevine. Furthermore, large closterovirus ge...

Grapevine leafroll (LR) and corky bark (CB) diseases occur wherever grapevines are grown and are associated with undesirable viticultural effects which include delayed ripening of fruit, reduced yield, altered fruit pigmentation, and reduced accumulation of sugar (6,24). Rootstockscion incompatibility (RSI) is a disease syndrome characterized by incompatibility at the graft union resulting in s...