Transmission studies on viruses associated with yellow mosaic disease of bitter gourd

Abstract

Bitter gourd yellow mosaic disease (BGYMD) is known to be caused by a wide range of viruses. In this, transmission of viruses associated with BGYMD causing typical blistering, yellowing and mosaic symptoms were studied. The viruses associated with BGYMD were sap and whitefly transmitted but failed to be transmitted by aphid and seed transmission methods. The test plant when inoculated with infected plant sap from BGYMD infected plant transmission exhibited blistering and mosaic type symptoms. Association of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) was confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), whitefly transmitted ones developed blistering, curling and mosaic from the same source with confirmed presence of begomovirus by PCR. Sap and whitefly transmission took place in 8 and 20 days, respectively. The symptoms became severe and hundred per cent plants were infected on 12 and 22 days after sap and whitefly transmission, respectively. Intermittent transmission study was conducted to observe the difference in the development of symptoms by mechanical and whitefly transmission, wherein the infection was transmitted to the healthy bitter gourd plant using mechanical, mechanical followed by whitefly transmission, whitefly followed by mechanical transmission and whitefly transmission. The symptoms developed on whitefly transmission followed by mechanical and vice versa exhibited the symptoms resembling the symptoms of the source plant to some extent whereas the infection on mechanically and whitefly transmitted seedlings were different from the source plant.