Screening of the Apium germ plasm collection for resistance to Celery mosaic virus (CeMV) revealed four resistant accessions: a celeriac, a feral celery line, and two wild celery species. The feral celery, which is genetically closest to cultivated celery, A. graveolens var. dulce, was used to generate backcross and F2 progenies to determine the inheritance of the resistance. Resistance was recessive and determined by a single locus named cmv. The simple inheritance of this trait will allow the development of celery lines resistant to CeMV.
Keywords: disease resistance.