Dasheen mosaic virus (DsMV) is one of the most important viral pathogens of aroids and can cause major economic losses for ornamental crops. Here, we present the detection and molecular characterisation of DsMV isolates originating from Monstera adansonii plants in Poland. Moreover, the genetic variability of DsMV isolates was analyzed based on the coat protein gene ( CP) of the Polish and other DsMV isolates described to date. The presence of DsMV was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with specific, diagnostic primers in three out of ten examined plants. To obtain full-length sequences of CP, two pairs of primers were designed and used in the RT-PCR. The specificity of obtained products was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The obtained sequences of CP were compared with 44 other DsMV sequences retrieved from the GenBank. Analyses revealed that DsMV population is very diverse. The variability of DsMV isolates was confirmed by low sequence identity and pervasive recombination events. The phylogenetic analysis was performed based on 37 non-recombinant CP sequences. The maximum-likelihood reconstruction revealed that the Polish isolates are distinct and grouped separately from other DsMV isolates. Due to the high genetic diversity, detecting the virus could be difficult. Nonetheless disease management relies strongly on a fast and accurate identification of the causal agent. To our knowledge this is the first report of DsMV in Poland.

This review presents the results of multi-year efforts for the development and integral investigation of the collection of Deschampsia antarctica É. Desv. plants originated from the maritime Antarctic. To create the collection, we have optimized the procedures and conditions for germination of seeds and generation of aseptic plants in vitro together with their subsequent clonal propagation, long-term in vitro culture, and acclimatization of plants to pot culture, and finally produced fertile plants able to set viable seeds. The collection of plants cultivated in vitro and in pots is consisted of clones of 22 different genotypes originated from eight island populations from the Argentine Islands – Kyiv Peninsula region. Some of these clones have been successfully cultured for more than ten years and were found to be genetically stable over this period. The collection was shown to be heterogeneous in a number of variables. The morphological and anatomical characteristics of the plants, as well as the data of karyological, molecular cytogenetic, molecular genetics, and biochemical analysis are presented. The created collection of D. antarctica plants can provide a valuable plant material with well-studied characteristics grown under controlled conditions to perform experimental research on the mechanisms for plant adaptation and resistance to various abiotic factors of Antarctic environment. Furthermore, development of the collection and its comprehensive characterization form the basis for further biotechnological developments focused on the use of this Antarctic plant as a source of biologically active substances, which can potentially be used for therapeutic and prophylactic purposes.