Lanai: A small, fast growing tomato variety is an excellent model system for studying geminiviruses

C.A Rajabu,G.G Kennedy,J Ndunguru,E.M Ateka,F Tairo,L Hanley-Bowdoin,J.T Ascencio-Ibáñez

doi:10.1016/j.jviromet.2018.03.002

Abstract

Geminiviruses are devastating single-stranded DNA viruses that infect a wide variety of crops in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Tomato, which is a host for more than 100 geminiviruses, is one of the most affected crops. Developing plant models to study geminivirus-host interaction is important for the design of virus management strategies. In this study, “Florida Lanai” tomato was broadly characterized using three begomoviruses (Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, TYLCV; Tomato mottle virus, ToMoV; Tomato golden mosaic virus, TGMV) and a curtovirus (Beet curly top virus, BCTV). Infection rates of 100% were achieved by agroinoculation of TYLCV, ToMoV or BCTV. Mechanical inoculation of ToMoV or TGMV using a microsprayer as well as whitefly transmission of TYLCV or ToMoV also resulted in 100% infection frequencies. Symptoms appeared as early as four days post inoculation when agroinoculation or bombardment was used. Symptoms were distinct for each virus and a range of features, including plant height, flower number, fruit number, fruit weight and ploidy, was characterized. Due to its small size, rapid growth, ease of characterization and maintenance, and distinct responses to different geminiviruses, “Florida Lanai” is an excellent choice for comparing geminivirus infection in a common host.

Highlights

Geminiviruses belong to a large, diverse family of plant infecting viruses (Geminiviridae) that are transmitted by insects and cause economically significant diseases worldwide (Zhang et al, 2001; Rojas et al, 2005; Hanley-Bowdoin et al, 2013)
E. coli cultures for Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), Tomato mottle virus (ToMoV), Tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) and Cabbage leaf curl virus (CaLCuV) DNA A and DNA B were prepared in LB broth containing 0.1 μg/ml carbenicillin, subsequently grown overnight at 37 °C with vigorous shaking
None of the plants developed symptoms, and PCR assays did not detect viral DNA in any of the plants. These results showed that the geminiviruses we tested are not transmitted through

Summary

Introduction

Geminiviruses belong to a large, diverse family of plant infecting viruses (Geminiviridae) that are transmitted by insects and cause economically significant diseases worldwide (Zhang et al, 2001; Rojas et al, 2005; Hanley-Bowdoin et al, 2013). Management of plant viruses is of vital importance to reduce the damage (Sastry and Zitter, 2014), especially in areas where food security is at risk due to high viral diversity and the emergence of more virulent strains (Damsteegt, 1999; Mansoor et al, 2003; Sastry and Zitter, 2014). In 2009, Rodrigues et al (Rodrigues et al, 2009) concluded that disease management strategies need extensive knowledge of the virus infection, transmission, spread and their effects on host plants to select the best control measures. The suitability of a host for studying the infection process is determined by its ability to become infected and to allow the virus to replicate and induce typical symptoms (Scholthof et al, 1996)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion