Inheritance of resistance to potato virus Y in tomato

Abstract

A line of Lycopersicon hirsutum (P.I. 247087) was resistant to iystemic infection by 10 isolates of potato virus Y (PVY) from Queensland. The inheritance of resistance to PVY was studied in crosses between a susceptible tomato cultivar (L. esculentum cv. Floradade) and P.I. 247087. Analysis of segregation data from PVY-inoculated parent lines, F1, F2 and backcross generations, supported the hypothesis that resistance is conferred by a single recessive gene. However, the effect of this gene was, in some generations, apparently modified by the highly susceptible genetic background of Floradade tomato. A backcrossing programme has commenced to incorporate this resistance into a commercially acceptable tomato cultivar.