Several directions are investigated in the Virology Department:
1. Detection and determination of economically important viruses, causing diseases on crops, cultivated in Bulgaria.
2. Investigation of strain diversity of important plant viruses.
3. Identification of new plant viruses, found within the country.
4. Development of different methods for virus purification and production of antiserа against important viruses in Bulgaria, used also for mass screenings.
5. Adaptation and modification of methods for serological, electron microscope and molecular diagnostics.
6. The department develops different studies for epidemiology of the economically important virus diseases, virus - vector - host interrelations, and the conditions responsible for the epiphytotical spread of the virus diseases. A special emphasis is put on aphid and thrips transmitted viruses.
7. The control of economically important plant viruses over the country is one of the substantial tasks for the virologists in PPI. The department also puts significant effort in work on development of genetically resistant lines and hybrids of tomato, as well as investigation for sources of resistance in plums against Plum pox virus and in cereals against Barley yellow dwarf virus.
8. Virology Department participates in the Integrated Pest Management Systems.
9. The researchers in the department consult plant protection specialists in National Plant Protection Service, National Laboratory for Plant Quarantine and Regional Plant Protection Services.
Cucumber mosaic
virus (CMV)
Cucumber green
mottle mosaic virus
Potato virus Y (PVY)
Virology Department achievements
Specific polyclonal antisera with high titer (1:2048) against two CMV isolates are produced at the Virology Department. The method of Lot et al. (1974) with slight modifications of the first steps has been used for virus purification.
Interspecific tomato lines and hybrids F1 with complex resistance against Tomato mosaic virus – ToMV & Cucumber mosaic virus – CMV, ToMV & Tomato spotted wilt virus – TSWV have been elaborated. The work has been completed in cooperation with the Institute of Genetics.
Scientific staff:
Dimitrinka Panayotova Hristova, Ph. D.
Associate Professor
Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Virus diseases on vegetables;
• Virus diseases transmitted by whitefly;
• Tospoviruses, Cucumoviruses;
• Seed transmitted viruses;
• Aphid transmitted viruses;
• Rhabdoviruses, Closteroviruses.
Nonka Valentinova Bakardjieva, Ph. D.
Associate Professor nbakardjieva@abv.bg
Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Virus diseases on cereal crops;
• Aphid transmitted virus diseases on cereals;
• Virus diseases on ornamental plants;
• Tissue culture.
Bistra Alexandrova Dikova, Ph. D.
Research Associate b.dikova@abv.bg
Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Virus diseases on beet;
• Virus diseases on medical plants;
• Identification of viruses, methods of diagnosis.
Research Interests and Main Activities:
• Virus diseases on stone and pome fruits;
• Contamination of plant tissues and fruits by metals Cu, Mn
and Zn as a result of pesticide treatment;
• Relationship between stone fruit cultivars and Рlum pox virus.
Nikolai Manchev Petrov
Research Associate, Molecular Virologist m_niki@abv.bg
Research Interests and Main Activitities
• Molecular diagnostics and identification of plant viruses;
• Biodiversity of plant viruses in plants and vectors of viral
pathogens;
• Molecular diagnostics of plant viruses in aphids.
• Investigation of antiviral substances – organic acids
and plant extracts;
• Investigation of vector activity of aphids;
• Establishment and measurement of resistence of aphids
and mites to insecticides and acaricides.
