First Report of Tuberose mild mottle virus Infecting Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) in the United States

Abstract

Tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa L.) is a bulbous ornamental plant in the family Agavaceae native to Mexico. In September 2016, five P. tuberosa potted plants, originally from Miami, Florida, were received at the Division of Plant Industry in Gainesville, FL. The leaves of the plants showed mild mottle and mosaic symptoms. Similar symptoms have been described from tuberose plants in New Zealand, China, Taiwan and India and were identified as a viral disease caused by Tuberose mild mottle virus (TuMMoV; family Potyviridae, genus Potyvirus) (Lin et al., 2004), Kulsherstha et al. 2005). Initial serological testing for the presence of a potyvirus using broad-spectrum lateral flow immunoassays and antigen-coated plate ELISA (Agdia, Elkhart, IN), both of which are based on a monoclonal antibody (PTY 1) yielded positive results. To further identify the possible potyvirus, total RNA was extracted using an RNeasy® Plant Mini kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) from one symptomatic leaf and reverse-transcription (RT)-PCR was p...