Occurrence Of Viruses Infecting Watermelon, Other Cucurbits, and Weeds in the Parts of Southern United States

Abstract

Field surveys were conducted to determine the distribution and frequency of viruses infecting watermelon and other cucurbits in the southern US in 2010 and 2011. Leaf samples were collected from 715 symptomatic plants from 10 states and were tested by dot-immunobinding assays or reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction for 17 viruses that included Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), Bean pod mottle virus (BPMV), Cucurbit aphid born yellows virus (CABYV), Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV), Papaya ringspot virus-W (PRSV-W), Squash leaf curl virus (SLCuV), Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), Squash mosaic virus (SqMV), Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV), Tobacco ringspot virus (TRSV), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), and Zucchini green mottle mosaic virus (ZGMMV). Thirteen out of 17 viruses were detected in this study. The distribution of detected viruses varied with the highest average frequency for WMV (30.6%), followed by PRSV-W (24.7%), ZYMV (13.9%), TRSV (5.7%), SqMV (3.5%), and MNSV (2.6%). The percent frequency of the remaining viruses was less than 2%. Seven viruses (AMV, BPMV, CMV, SqMV, TRSV, PRSV-W, and ZYMV) were also detected either from nearby agricultural crops or weeds species. Mixed infections were also recorded for some viruses with potyviruses being the most common. There is limited information on frequency and distribution of viruses that occur on watermelon and other cucurbits. These results indicate that potyviruses, particularly PRSV-W, WMV, and ZYMV, are frequently present in infected watermelon and other cucurbits in the southern US. Accepted for publication 30 July 2012. Published 24 August 2012.

The bottle gourd genome provides insights into Cucurbitaceae evolution and facilitates mapping of a Papaya ring‐spot virus resistance locus

“…Among plant diseases, viral diseases are a major limiting factor in cucurbit crop productions. The most prevalent viruses causing major impact to cucurbit crop productions worldwide are those aphid-transmitted viruses in the family Potyviridae, including Papaya ring-spot virus watermelon strain (PRSV-W), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) (Lecoq et al, 1998;Turechek et al, 2010;Ali et al, 2012). Commercially available bottle gourd cultivars are generally susceptible to viral diseases (Ling et al, 2013).…”

First Complete Genome Sequence of Papaya ringspot virus -W Isolated from a Gourd in the United States

“…In the United States, the cultivation of cucurbits is mostly concentrated in the southern states (1), where a number of viruses have been reported from cucurbit crops (2–7). Among the viruses, Papaya ringspot virus -W (PRSV-W; genus Potyvirus , family Potyviridae ) is one of the most destructive potyviruses and is a limiting factor for cucurbit production worldwide (8).…”

“…In Oklahoma, the incidence of PRSV-W was reported to be more than 50% in cucurbit fields (6), while it was 24% in other southern states (7). Although it is an important virus, to our knowledge, no complete genome of PRSV-W from any cucurbit crops has ever been sequenced in the United States.…”

“…During our previous studies on cucurbits viruses (6, 7), a PRSV-W-positive sample from gourd collected from a grower field in Tulsa County, OK, known as TUL15, showed severe mosaic and mottling and was selected for this study. The TUL15 isolate was maintained in a growth chamber by mechanically inoculating pumpkin seedlings using extracted sap from infected gourd leaves.…”

Occurrence of Diseases and Case of Clinical Diagnosis on Watermelon in South Korea, 2008-2012

“…The cultivation area was peaked at 45,207 ha in 1995, but it has declined in each successive year (Park and Cho, 2013). Various fungi (Ali et al, 2012a) and viruses are major plant pathogens caused dramatic problems in watermelon (Bananej and Vahdat, 2008;Ali et al, 2012a;Ali et al, 2012b). Present commercial cultivars have been found to be susceptible to one or other kind of diseases.…”