First Report of Tomato Mottle Geminivirus Infecting Tomatoes in Yucatan, Mexico

Abstract

Whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses are a major constraint on tomato production in Mexico (3). In the Yucatan State, these viruses can cause serious losses in late season plantings. As part of an effort to characterize these viruses, leaf samples from four tomato plants showing symptoms of geminivirus infection, such as stunted growth and leaf mottling and deformation, were collected from a single field in the Yucatan State in February, 1996. Geminivirus nucleic acids were detected in leaf samples from all four plants by squash blot hybridization analysis with a general DNA probe for Western Hemisphere whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses (2). Nicotiana benthamiana plants inoculated with sap prepared with leaf tissue from one plant developed stunted growth and leaf mottling and deformation. When graft-transmitted from N. benthamiana to tomato, the geminivirus(es) induced leaf mottling and deformation, which were similar to symptoms in the field-collected tomato plants. The presence of geminivirus DNA in the sap- and graft-inoculated plants was confirmed with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and degenerate primers for the DNA-A (PAL1v1978 and PAR1c496) or DNA-B (PBL1v2040 and PCRc1) components of whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses (4). Using PCR and these degenerate primers, approximately 1.1-kb DNA-A and approximately 0.6-kb DNA-B fragments were amplified from DNA extracts prepared from leaves of each of the four Yucatan tomato plants. No DNA fragments were amplified from these extracts with primers for pepper huasteco geminivirus (pAL1c2329 and pAL1v1471, or pBR1c840 and pBL1v1830). To determine the identity of the geminivirus(es) infecting these tomato plants, the PCR-amplified DNA-A and DNA-B fragments from one of the samples were cloned and sequenced. Comparisons made with these sequences revealed two distinct types of DNA-A and DNA-B clones, indicating a mixed infection of at least two bipartite geminiviruses. DNA-A and DNA-B sequences of one set of clones were >97% identical to sequences of tomato mottle geminivirus (ToMoV) from Florida (1). The presence of ToMoV in all four tomato leaf samples was demonstrated by the PCR-mediated amplification of a 0.9-kb DNA-A fragment with ToMoV-specific primers (pAL1v2295 and pAR1c580). The identity of this 0.9-kb DNA fragment was further confirmed based upon its hybridization with a full-length clone of ToMoV DNA-A under high stringency conditions (2). A data base search made with the sequence of the other type of DNA-A clone revealed sequence identities of <70% with various bipartite geminiviruses (e.g., identities of 70% with tomato mottle, 69% with Sida golden mosaic, 67% with bean dwarf mosaic, and 66% with taino tomato mottle and with potato yellow mosaic), which confirmed that a second geminivirus was present in a mixed infection with ToMoV in this tomato leaf sample. To confirm the bipartite nature of this geminivirus, a DNA-B fragment that contained the common region (CR) sequence was amplified from the same sample with PCR and primers PBL1v2040 and PBR1c970 (a degenerate primer that anneals within the BV1 open reading frame; F. M. Zerbini and R. L. Gil-bertson, unpublished data), cloned, and sequenced. The CR sequence of this DNA-B fragment was 96% identical to that of the DNA-A fragment, which establishes the presence of another bipartite geminivirus in this sample. This is the first report of ToMoV in Mexico. These results also suggest that at least two bipartite geminiviruses may infect tomatoes in the Yucatan Peninsula. References: (1) A. M. Abouzid et al. J. Gen. Virol. 73:3225, 1992. (2) R. L. Gilbertson et al. Plant Dis. 75:336, 1991. (3) J. E. Polston and P. K. Anderson. Plant Dis. 81:1358, 1997. (4) M. R. Rojas et al. Plant Dis. 77:340, 1993.

Preliminary identification and coat protein gene phylogenetic relationships of begomoviruses associated with native flora and cultivated plants from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

“…Begomoviruses of cultivated plant species that have been reported previously in Mexico and Central America, which also were provisionally identified from the YPM were from Phaseolus lunatus, Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV); from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), Tomato mottle virus (ToMoV) [19]; from pepper (Capsicum annuum), Pepper golden mosaic virus (PepGMV) [20]; and from squash (Cucurbita moschata), and watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris), Melon chlorotic leaf curl virus (MCLCuV), a begomovirus that was first described from melon and watermelon in Guatemala [21] (Table 3). Sida (Table 3).…”

Immune Receptors and Co-receptors in Antiviral Innate Immunity in Plants

“…The NSP-mediated suppression of NIK1 kinase prevents activation of the NIK-mediated pathway and hence enhances the pathogenicity of begomoviruses in their hosts (Santos et al, 2009, 2010). In addition to acting as a virulence factor suppressing NIK1-mediated antiviral signaling, NSP from the begomovirus Bean dwarf mosaic virus (BDMV) has been demonstrated to function as an Avr gene and elicit HR in Phaseolus vulgaris (Garrido-Ramirez and Gilbertson, 1998). According to the zigzag evolutionary model of plant innate immunity (Jones and Dangl, 2006), the involvement and activation of ETI in plant-virus interactions (NSP in resistant bean genotypes) is conceptually associated with successful PTI inhibition (NIK1 signaling) by a viral effector (NSP).…”

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic relationships of two new bipartite begomovirus infecting malvaceous plants in Yucatan, Mexico

“…Previous reports in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (YPM) confirmed the presence of begomoviruses infecting pepper [12] and tomato [13,14]. However, begomoviruses infecting native weed plants have been overlooked, particularly in this region.…”