Abstract

Jatropha curcas, a plant with great biodiesel potential is also used to reduce the population of whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci on cassava fields when planted as a hedge. We therefore, investigated the transmission of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) by the whitefly vector from cassava to seedlings of ten accessions of J. curcas as part of a wider investigation on the possible role of J. curcas as an alternative host of ACMV. Transmission tests were conducted in insect-proof cages using adult B. tabacicollected from ACMV-infected cassava in the field, at a rate of three adult whiteflies per J. curcas seedling and a transmission feeding period of four days. Twenty one (21) days after the infestation, leaf samples from individual plants of the ten J. curcasaccessions were tested for the presence of ACMV by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), using the monoclonal antibodies SCRI 33. DAS-ELISA detected ACMV in five out of the ten J. curcas accessions while PCR detected it in eight of the ten accessions. Furthermore, 18 out of the 35 Nicotiana benthamiana indicator plants mechanically inoculated with sap from symptomatic J. curcas seedlings produced symptoms typical of ACMV infection. This indicates that J. curcas is a likely host of ACMV and it may in turn, be able to infect cassava, and presumably other ACMV-susceptible hosts, in the presence of the vector. Key words: Jatropha curcas accessions, controlled transmission, mechanical inoculation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, African cassava mosaic virus(ACMV)-susceptible hosts.

Highlights

  • Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) belonging to the family Alerodidae, has been reported in all continents except Antarctica, probably due to the extremely cold conditions

  • A plant with great biodiesel potential is used to reduce the population of whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci on cassava fields when planted as a hedge

  • Twenty one (21) days after the infestation, leaf samples from individual plants of the 10 J. curcas accessions were tested for the presence of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), using the monoclonal antibodies SCRI 33

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Summary

Introduction

Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) belonging to the family Alerodidae, has been reported in all continents except Antarctica, probably due to the extremely cold conditions. Transmission tests were conducted in insect-proof cages using adult B. tabaci collected from ACMV-infected cassava in the field, at a rate of three adult whiteflies per J. curcas seedling and a transmission feeding period of four days. Twenty one (21) days after the infestation, leaf samples from individual plants of the 10 J. curcas accessions were tested for the presence of ACMV by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and the double-antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), using the monoclonal antibodies SCRI 33.

Results
Conclusion

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