Risk assessment of AMV resistant clove

Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) infection of white clover can cause major economic losses to the dairy industry. To reduce yield losses, genetically modified (GM) virus-resistant white clover expressing the RNA3 AMV coat protein gene have been developed and trialled in Australia. However, since white clover is naturalised or invasive in a wide range of high conservation-value plant communities in SE Australia, transgenic white clover could pose a significant risk to native ecosystems in this region. The aim of our work is to determine the abundance, genetic diversity and evolutionary potential of AMV populations in white clover in potentially at-risk SE Australian ecosystems.