Puccinia kuehnii is an obligate biotrophic fungal pathogen that causes orange rust of sugarcane, which is prevalent in many countries around the globe. In the USA, orange rust was first detected in sugarcane in Florida in 2007 and poses a persistent and economically damaging threat to the sugarcane industry in this region. Here, we generated the first genome assemblies for two isolates of P. kuehnii (1040 and 2143) collected in Florida in 2017 from two sugarcane cultivars, CL85-1040 and CP89-2143, respectively. These two rust genome resources will be of immense value for future genomic studies, particularly further exploration of the predicted secretomes that may help define key pathogenicity determinants for this economically important pathogen.
As of March 2021, the Family: Picornaviridae contained 158 species grouped into 68 different genera. We report the identification of a new Picornaviridae-like viral specie isolated from the Wild Lime Psyllid (WLP), Leuronota fagarae. Extraction and sequencing of nucleic acid from WLP adult salivary glands identified a 5554 nt sequence with 52.75% identity to Diaphorina citri (Asian Citrus Psyllid) picorna-like virus polyprotein and 59.61% identity to the Bemisia tabaci (Silverleaf Whitefly) picorna-like virus polyprotein, NCBI BLASTx and BLASTp analysis. Sequence comparisons of amino acids and nucleotides showed consistent similarity and motifs consistent with picorna-like virus polyproteins across 8 known species, with significant E-values of 7e-116 or less. Picornavirus genome polyproteins are around 2100-2400 aa in length, being cleaved into multiple active peptides to allow for viral replication. Phylogenetic comparisons using amino acid and nucleic acid polyprotein sequences showed a diverse radiant group of insect hosts. The discovery of a novel picorna-like virus in WLP whose niche overlaps with the Asian citrus psyllid in the state of Florida, USA, and which is strongly related to the D. citri picorna-like virus, provides an opportunity to examine virus host specificity, and modes of transmission between these two psyllid species. Ultimately, research will examine the potential to use these viral pathogens for the management of D. citri populations to reduce the transmission of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the bacterial pathogen of citrus trees causing Huanglongbing.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.