HomePlant DiseaseVol. 99, No. 6Identification of Tomato spotted wilt virus Associated With Fruit Damage During a Recent Virus Outbreak in Pepper in Venezuela PreviousNext DISEASE NOTES OPENOpen Access licenseIdentification of Tomato spotted wilt virus Associated With Fruit Damage During a Recent Virus Outbreak in Pepper in VenezuelaY. Pérez-Colmenares, A. Mejías, E. Rodríguez-Román, D. Avilán, J. C. Gómez, E. Marys, J. E. Olachea, and K. ZambranoY. Pérez-ColmenaresSearch for more papers by this author, A. MejíasSearch for more papers by this author, E. Rodríguez-RománSearch for more papers by this author, D. AvilánSearch for more papers by this author, J. C. GómezSearch for more papers by this author, E. MarysSearch for more papers by this author, J. E. OlacheaSearch for more papers by this author, and K. ZambranoSearch for more papers by this authorAffiliationsAuthors and Affiliations Y. Pérez-Colmenares A. Mejías E. Rodríguez-Román D. Avilán J. C. Gómez E. Marys , Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Centro de Microbiología y Biología Celular, ZIP 20632, Caracas 1020-A, Venezuela J. E. Olachea , Olachea C.A, Agua Viva, Cabudare, Estado Lara, ZIP 3023, Venezuela K. Zambrano , Universidad Centro-Occidental Lisandro Alvarado, Estado Lara, ZIP 3023, Venezuela. Published Online:18 May 2015https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-11-14-1202-PDNAboutSectionsSupplemental ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailWechat In August 2014, several diseased pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) plants showing severe stunting, necrotic spots, and leaf deformation were noticed in commercial pepper fields located in Tintorero, Lara State, Venezuela. Affected plants produced deformed unmarketable fruits with striking chlorotic and necrotic ringspots and irregular coloring. On the basis of these symptoms, infection with Tospovirus was suspected. To confirm this, RT-PCR using universal tospovirus primers L1 (5′-AATTGCCTTGCAACCAATTC-3′) and L2 (5′-ATCAGTCGAAATGGTCGGCA-3′), which amplify part of the L RNA within the open reading frame of the RNA polymerase gene (Chatzivassiliou et al. 2000), was performed on total RNA extracted from symptomatic leaf tissue with the TRIZOL Reagent (Invitrogen, Carlsbad, CA). The reaction from 22 diseased plants yielded amplicons of the expected size (∼276 bp). Two amplicons were directly sequenced in both orientations and the sequences were deposited in GenBank (Accession Nos. KP006412 and KP006413). BLAST analysis showed that the fragment sequences shared best nucleotide sequence identity (99%) to Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) isolates deposited in GenBank from different hosts from Russia (JX452818.1), Italy (KJ575619.1), South Korea (KC261947.1), Venezuela (KC202213.1), and Iran (KC767959.1). Further TSWV identity was confirmed in symptomatic plants by RT-PCR assays with primers CP1-TSWV (TTAACTTACAGCTGCTTT) and CP2-TSWV (CAAAGCATATAAGAACTT) for the amplification of the TSWV coat protein. A single DNA product of ∼823 bp was amplified from all samples. A search of GenBank revealed a sequence identity of 95 to 99% with the coat protein gene of known TSWV isolates. Pepper plants were inoculated mechanically with sap from symptomatic pepper from field. Foliage developed mild bronzing and leaf deformation, and the presence of TSWV was confirmed using RT-PCR. To our knowledge, this is the first report of TSWV infecting pepper in Venezuela. Considering its broad range, this emerging virus could pose a significant threat to the Venezuelan vegetable industry.Reference:Chatzivassiliou, E. K., et al. 2000. Ann. Appl. Biol. 137:127. Crossref, ISI, Google ScholarDetailsFiguresLiterature CitedRelated Vol. 99, No. 6 June 2015SubscribeISSN:0191-2917e-ISSN:1943-7692 Metrics Article History Issue Date: 23 Jun 2015Published: 18 May 2015First Look: 21 Jan 2015Accepted: 12 Jan 2015 Pages: 896-896 Information© 2015 The American Phytopathological SocietyCited byPhenotypic and genotypic characterisation of pepper genotypes for Tomato Spotted Wilt Orthotospovirus reaction and resistance1 August 2022 | Mediterranean Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 35, No. 2A global invasion by the thrip, Frankliniella occidentalis : Current virus vector status and its management23 October 2019 | Insect Science, Vol. 27, No. 4Capsicum annuum and Capsicum frutescens (Bell pepper, Chilli, Pepper, Sweet pepper)6 June 2020First detection of tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato in Venezuela22 May 2018 | Journal of Plant Pathology, Vol. 100, No. 2Isparta ve Burdur İlleri Üretim Alanlarında Yetiştirilen Domateslerde Domates Lekeli Solgunluk Virüsü’nün Tanılanması9 March 2017 | Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü Dergisi, Vol. 8, No. 1