Abstract
Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) caused by the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) is one of the most important banana diseases in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study focused on the production of BBTV-free plantain seedlings from infected banana plants. A total of 10 suckers from the French plantain Litete (Musa AAB) and the False Horn plantain Libanga Likale (Musa AAB) with advanced BBTD symptoms were collected. Meristematic apices excised from those suckers were cultured in vitro and subcultured five times. The presence of BBTV was evaluated by the Triple-Antibody Sandwich Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (TAS-ELISA). The BBTV was confirmed in all suckers prior to in vitro culture but 73.3% of Litete plantlets and 66.6% of Libanga Likale plantlets regenerated from meristematic tissues were virus-free. This indicates that in vitro culture is a simple tool to generate BBTV-free plantains. Key words: Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), in vitro tissue culture, plantains
Highlights
The Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) is one of the most devastating diseases in banana and plantain, sometimes causing 100% yield losses (Qazi, 2016)
Of minor significance are Abaca Bunchy Top Virus (ABTV, genus Babuvirus), Abaca Mosaic Virus caused by a distinct strain of Sugarcane Mosaic Virus (SCMV) designated as SCMVAb, Banana Mild Mosaic virus (BanMMV), and Banana virus X (BVX) both unassigned
The aim of this study is to clean plantain plants, a starchy banana of the Musa AAB subgroup which is widely cultivated in the Congo basin and in West Africa, from Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) by in vitro culture to regenerate healthy plants free of BBTV and confirm this by TAS-ELISA
Summary
The Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) is one of the most devastating diseases in banana and plantain, sometimes causing 100% yield losses (Qazi, 2016). About 20 virus species belonging to 5 families have been reported to infect banana and plantain worldwide (Kumar et al, 2015). The most economically important viruses of banana are Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV, genus Babuvirus, family Nanoviridae), several species of Banana Streak Viruses (BSVs, genus Badnavirus, family Caulimoviridae) and Banana Bract Mosaic Virus (BBrMV, genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae). Of minor significance are Abaca Bunchy Top Virus (ABTV, genus Babuvirus), Abaca Mosaic Virus caused by a distinct strain of Sugarcane Mosaic Virus (SCMV) designated as SCMVAb (genus Potyvirus), Banana Mild Mosaic virus (BanMMV), and Banana virus X (BVX) both unassigned.
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