Identification of natural hosts of Zucchini lethal chlorosis virus

Abstract

Zucchini lethal chlorosis virus (ZLCV) is a species of the genus Tospovirus, in the family Bunyaviridae, and is transmitted by thrips (Frankliniella zucchini). To date, ZLCV has only been reported in Brazil, where it causes a disease known as lethal chlorosis of zucchini squash. The aim of this study was to identify additional species susceptible to ZLCV through natural infection in the field and to provide subsidies for the establishment of management strategies for the disease. Six hundred fifty-three samples belonging to 44 plant species representing 13 families were analyzed using PTA-ELISA. ZLCV naturally infected the following species: Cucumis anguria (1/12), Datura stramonium (1/59) and Luffa aegyptiaca (1/3). This work provides evidence that the main natural hosts of this tospovirus are concentrated in the cucurbit family. Presently, the management of inoculum sources can minimize the damage caused by this tospovirus.

The complete genome of the tospovirus Zucchini lethal chlorosis virus

“…Although some tospovirus species are notorious for their broad-host range [ 2 ], ZLCV mainly infects cucurbits and is only known to be transmitted by Frankliniella zucchini (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) [ 3 ]. So far ZLCV has just been reported in Brazil, naturally infecting sponge gourd, West Indian gherkin, cucumber, watermelon and several species of squash [ 4 , 5 ]. Infection by ZLCV abrogate fruit production in zucchini plants and the only resistant cultivar is Cucurbita maxima cv.…”

Multiplex RT-PCR identification of five viruses associated with the watermelon crops in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…The most important viruses that affect the watermelon plants are: (i) cucumovirus as Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) (Roossinck, 2001); (ii) potyviruses as Papaya ringspot virus type W (PRSV-W) (Barnett, 1991;Bateson et al, 2002), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) (Desbiez and Lecoq, 2004;Purcifull and Hiebert, 1979), and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) (Desbiez and Lecoq, 1997;Harth et al, 2017); and (iii) orthotospovirus as Zucchini lethal chlorosis viruses (ZLCV) (Camelo-García et al, 2015;Lima et al, 2016). These viruses are widely distributed in the cucurbit cultivation areas in Brazil, limiting the yield and fruit quality (Aguiar et al, 2013(Aguiar et al, , 2015Soares et al, 2016).…”