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Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW POTYVIRUS NATURALLY INFECTING CHICKPEA

Author
item Larsen, Richard
item KAISER, W - PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER
item WYATT, S - RETIRED
item BUXTON-DRUFFEL, K - WSU
item BERGER, P - UNIV OF IDAHO

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/5/2003
Publication Date: 11/1/2003
Citation: LARSEN, R.C., KAISER, W.J., WYATT, S.D., BUXTON-DRUFFEL, K., BERGER, P.H. CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW POTYVIRUS NATURALLY INFECTING CHICKPEA. PLANT DISEASE, Vol. 87 (11):1366-1371. 2003.

Interpretive Summary: Chickpeas (Cicer arietinum L.), also known in the markets as garbonzo beans, are grown world wide as a staple food rich in protein. The crop is also subject to infection by many fungal and virus diseases. During the growing seasons of 1999-2001, symptoms consisting of mosaic, stunting, yellowing, wilting, shortening of internodes, and phloem discoloration were observed in chickpea grown in the Department of Chuquisaca in southern Bolivia. Seed yield losses were at least 10% due to the disease. Symptoms resembled those caused by several other viruses but serological tests conducted to identify the virus were unsuccessful. Utilizing a monoclonal antibody that detects most all viruses belonging to the genus Potyvirus, it was determined that the virus causing the disease was a member of that family. The virus infects a limited number of other legume hosts including, pea, alfalfa, bean, and lentil. Although the virus infects legumes, phylogenetic analysis of the virus coat protein amino acid sequence showed that this unusual virus was more closely related to other potyviruses that infect solanaceous hosts including Potato virus Y and Pepper severe mosaic virus, rather than to other legume-infecting potyviruses. This causal agent was determined to be a new and unique virus of chickpea and the name Chickpea yellow mosaic virus has been proposed.

Technical Abstract: During the 1999-2001 growing seasons, symptoms consisting of mosaic, stunting, yellowing, wilting, shortening of internodes, and phloem discoloration were observed in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in the Department of Chuquisaca in southern Bolivia. In some fields, up to 10% of the plants exhibited virus-like symptoms and suffered greatly reduced seed yields. Lentil (Lens culinaris) was also observed to be infected but not pea (Pisum sativum) or faba bean (Vicia faba) growing in nearby fields. Infected chickpea tissue reacted positively to the potyvirus group-specific monoclonal antibody (MAB), but there was no serological reaction with antisera to the potyviruses Bean yellow mosaic virus, Clover yellow vein virus, Cowpea aphid-borne virus, Pea seedborne mosaic virus, Bean common mosaic virus, or Bean common mosaic necrosis virus. Western blots of total protein extracts probed with the potyvirus MAB revealed a single band ca. 32 kDa. Comparative sequence analysis of cDNA clones generated from the putative coat protein gene consisted of 282 amino acids (31.9 kDa) and showed moderate identities of 67, 66, 63, 63, and 61% with the coat proteins of potyviruses Pepper severe mosaic virus, Pepper yellow mosaic virus, Potato virus Y, Plum pox virus, and Pepper mottle virus, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of the coat protein amino acid sequence revealed that this virus is a distinct but unique member of the family Potyviridae, and is phylogenetically most closely related to a grouping of Solanaceae-infecting potyviruses rather than to other legume-infecting potyviruses. The proposed name for the new causal agent is Chickpea yellow mosaic virus.