Different mutations in the genome-linked protein VPg of Potato virus Y confer virulence on the pvr23 resistance in pepper

Five different amino acid substitutions in the VPg of Potato virus Y were shown to be independently responsible for virulence toward pvr2(3) resistance gene of pepper. A consequence of these multiple mutations toward virulence involving single nucleotide substitutions is a particularly high frequency of resistance breaking (37% of inoculated plants from the first inoculation) and suggests a potentially low durability of pvr2(3) resistance. These five mutants were observed with significantly different frequencies, one of them being overrepresented. Genetic drift alone could not explain the observed distribution of virulent mutants. More plausible scenarios were obtained by taking into account either the relative substitution rates, the relative fitness of the mutants in pvr2(3) pepper plants, or both.