Plant pararetroviral sequences in wild Dahlia species in their natural habitats in Mexican mountain ranges

Abstract

Selected wild Dahlia species in their natural habitats from west-central Mexico were tested for the presence of three caulimoviruses known to be associated with cultivated dahlia (Dahlia variabilis), viz. Dahlia mosaic virus (DMV), DMV-D10 and Dahlia common mosaic virus. Virus species-specific primers and PCR were used followed by cloning and sequencing of the amplicons. Results showed that the wild dahlia species in their natural habitat contained DMV-D10, which is an endogenous plant pararetrovirus. Viral sequences were found in 91% of the samples (n = 56) representing four different wild species. The gene coding for the movement protein of DMV-D10 from Dahlia coccinea and all other species was cloned and sequenced. Sequence comparisons showed divergence of this gene when compared to that of DMV-D10 from cultivated dahlias. The discovery of plant pararetroviruses in wild dahlia species in their natural habitats suggests a possible emergence, co-existence and co-evolution of pararetroviruses and their host plants.

Rapid colorimetric detection of Hg2+ ion by green silver nanoparticles synthesized using Dahlia pinnata leaf extract

“…pinnata is a herbaceous plant, the leaves of which are a potent source of functional organic molecules [24]. Hence, the leaf extract of this plant is expected to reduce silver ions, if exposed.…”

“…However, no report was found about the use of Dahlia pinnata leaves for the same purpose. We chose the leaves of D. pinnata as they contain bioactive organic molecules that may reduce the metal ions [24] and stabilize the colloidal particles in the reacting solution.…”

Genetic structure of Zephyranthes fosteri, specie with ornamental and medicinal potential in Mexico

“…Genetically, the Yucatan (MY) and Jalisco Valley populations (Za) were the closest populations (Figure 3) this was unexpected given the significant geographical distance and the orographic barriers between locations, that difficults the genetic flux between the them. The similarity between the populations would have been more clear if they were distributed from south to north as is the case for several other crops and wild ornamentals (Heiser and Nelson, 1974;Eid et al, 2011;Piperno, 2011). On the other hand, individuals from these regions shared white flowers and had a high probability of belonging to the same genetic population.…”

Untangling the taxonomy of dahlia mosaic virus

“…However, the replication of DMV-D10 might be supported by a coinfecting virus such as DCMV. DMV-D10, renamed Dahlia variabilis endogenous pararetroviral sequence (DvEPRS) by Eid and Pappu [ 7 ], was detected in wild plants of four different Dahlia species ( D. coccinea , D. rupicola , D. tenuicaulis and D. sherffii ) growing in their natural habitats in west-central Mexico, suggesting that the integration events occurred well before the domestication of dahlia [ 6 ].…”