Evaluation of genotoxicity of the aqueous extracts from wild Artemisia herba-alba and Jasmina montana against Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) in Cucurbita pepo plants

Abstract

Squash or cucurbit (Cucurbita pepo) is one of the famous and important vegetable plants in most world countries. The squash is infected by the critical Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) in Egypt. Though pesticides can protect the plants of pest infections, there are no effective compounds that can be applied as virucides. In this work, the effects of aqueous extracts from Jasmina montana and Artemisia herba-alba on ZYMV infection in the squash plants were examined. In addition, SDS-PAGE protein patterns and enzyme activities were evaluated and induction of resistance by plant elicitors against ZYMV was studied The results observed that using of the aqueous extracts from A. herba-alba or J. montana extracts prior to ZYMV inoculation recorded 100% inhibition of virus infection. Also, complete inhibition was obtained by treatment of A. herba-alba extract with the virus inoculum led to destroy the virus particles due to presence of the effective compounds (terpens, phenolics and the essential oils) in the plant extract. SDS-PAGE protein profiles and enzyme activities were studied in treated and untreated plants. Genomic DNA variation was studied using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) loci. The alterations in RAPD and ISSR assays of representative squash plants can be applied to comprehend of induced systemic resistance. These inducers stimulated resistance in the squash plants. Therefore, elicitors should be taken into consideration in the breeding programs for ZYMV control.