Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), a member of the aphid‐transmitted genus Potyvirus, is the cause of a destructive disease and a major limiting factor for papaya and cucurbit cultivation worldwide (Purcifull et al., 1984). Papaya ringspot. Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) is currently recognized as the most economically important virus that infects papayas (Fermin and Gonsalves, 2003). PRSV-resistant papaya is the first example of successful commercial application of GE technology in a fruit crop ( Gonsalves, 1998 ). There is another strain of this virus called Papaya ringspot virus - type W. These two strains are very similar, except that type PRSV-W does not infect papaya… Scientific Name. Papaya ringspot virus moves from plant to plant carried by tiny flies called aphids. Viruses differ in their shapes, type of genetic material and whether they have an outer membrane or not, among other features. PRSV is grouped into papaya‐infecting type‐P (PRSV‐P) and non‐papaya … Papaya ringspot potyvirus - type P. The abbreviation for this virus is PRSV. Common Name.