Abstract
Mealybug wilt of pineapple (MWP) is a disease of pineapple that has a long history in Hawaii, but is present throughout the world where pineapples are grown in tropical regions. The disease has an interesting etiology that is poorly understood but involves an association with virus particles, mealybug vectors, and ants which spread the mealybug vectors. Several distinct pineapple mealybug wilt-associated virus (PMWaV) species have been identified thus far with potential further member species yet to be characterized. Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses are member species of the Ampelovirus genus of the Closteroviridae family. Ampeloviruses are split into two subgroups, subgroup I and subgroup II. PMWaV-2 is a subgroup II member, and these have a longer and more complex genome with additional genes on the 3’ terminus of the RNA genome compared to subgroup I ampeloviruses. PMWaV-2, along with the presence of mealybug vectors, have been shown to be necessary factors in symptom development in Hawaii. Some of these extra genes in the 3’ of PMWaV-2 have recently been shown to function as silencing suppressors, and may play a role in the virulence of PMWaV-2 and symptom development. In other regions of the world, reports of symptomatic plants without PMWaV-2 infection, but with PMWaV-1, -3 or some combination, contradict the requirement of PMWaV-2 for symptom development in MWP. It is possible that further, uncharacterized PMWaVs may be present in symptomatic pineapple plants that test negative for PMWaV-2, explaining the inconsistency in symptom development. More research is necessary to explore the confusing etiology of the MWP disease, and to perhaps shed light upon the symptom development.
Highlights
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA; Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, These authors contributed to this work
In a more recent survey for pineapple mealybug wilt-associated virus (PMWaV) and badnaviruses in commercially-grown pineapple hybrids which were recently imported into Hawaii, and 131 pineapple accessions maintained at the USDA-ARS germplasm repository in Hilo, Hi, Subere [112] found four badnavirus-like sequences that were tentatively grouped into four clades (A, B, C, and D), occurring in mixed infections with Pineapple mealybug-wilt associated virus 1 (PMWaV-1), -2, -3, or 4, using reverse-transcription PCR assays with degenerate and specific primers [112]
Previous studies have shown a positive correlation between the induction of Mealybug wilt of pineapple (MWP) symptoms with mealybug feeding and PMWaV-2 infection in “Smooth Cayenne” cultivars in Hawaii
Summary
Pineapples, Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. of the Bromeliaceae family, are xerophytic tropical monocotyledonous plants which are perennial in nature [1]. The vigorous and rapid growth of this cultivar reduced the production cycle time, which resulted in larger yields per acre per year This fruit is large, attractive, aromatic, extremely sweet, and has high sugar content. It has exceptionally long storage life, and importantly, the fruit produced in the winter months has low acidity, which makes it ideal as a fresh fruit cultivar in global markets. By early 2000, “MD-2” had almost completely replaced “Smooth Cayenne” in the rapidly-growing fresh pineapple markets in the U.S and Europe [6]. Another hybrid that gained considerable commercial success was “MD-1”, which is commercially grown in Australia. The fresh pineapple export market is dominated by Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Brazil
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