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Integrated Thermotherapy and Chemotherapy for the Elimination of GLRaV-3 and GFkV in Vitis vinifera ‘Shine Muscat’
Si-Hong Kim12
,
Jae-Yun Heo2
,
Ho-Min Kang34*
1Smart Farm Research Center, KIST Gangneung, Institute of National Products, Gangneung 25451, Korea
2Department of Plant Science, College of Life Science, Kangwon National University, Gangneung 25457, Korea
3Kangwon National University, Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
4Interdisciplinary Program in Smart Agriculture, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 24341, Korea
*Corresponding Author
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Abstract

Grapevine leafroll-associated virus-3 (GLRaV-3) and Grapevine fleck virus (GFkV) are significant viral pathogens commonly found in the form of mixed infections in V. vinifera ‘Shine Muscat’ in Korea, which severely limits the production of virus-free planting materials. This study assessed the effects of ribavirin chemotherapy (20 and 40 mg L-1), thermotherapy at 37°C, and treatments that combine these two actions on in vitro growth, shoot-tip regeneration stability, and virus elimination efficiency in mixed virus-infected ‘Shine Muscat’ plantlets. The thermotherapy and the combined treatments resulted in relatively stable shoot growth in vitro, while the ribavirin treatment alone tended to inhibit shoot elongation, although this treatment resulted in limited root damage. The survival rates of regenerated plantlets after shoot-tip culturing varied by treatment, ranging from 50.0% (R40+T) to 80.9% (R20). All treatments exhibited higher mixed-infection elimination rates than the untreated control (47.6%), defined as plantlets without thermotherapy or the ribavirin treatment. Among them, the combined thermotherapy–ribavirin treatments showed the highest efficiency levels, with elimination rates of 82.4% (R20+T) and 92.3% (R40+T). These findings suggest that combining ribavirin with thermotherapy can significantly enhance the elimination efficiency of mixed viral infections while maintaining acceptable levels of growth and regeneration stability. This study lays a practical foundation for optimizing treatment conditions for the nursery-level production of virus-free ‘Shine Muscat’ grapevines.

Keywords
in vitro sanitation
mixed virus infection
nursery-level production
regeneration trade-off
shoot-tip culture
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Information
  • Publisher :KOREAN SOCIETY FOR HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국원예학회
  • Journal Title :Horticultural Science and Technology
  • Journal Title(Ko) :원예과학기술지
  • Received Date : 2026-01-06
  • Revised Date : 2026-04-09
  • Accepted Date : 2026-04-30
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7235/HORT.20260015
Journal Informaiton Horticultural Science and Technology Horticultural Science and Technology
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