ARS | Publication request: First Report of Apium Virus Y on Cilantro, Celery, and Parsley in California.

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: May 28, 2008
Publication Date: August 4, 2008
Citation: Tian, T., Liu, H., Koike, S. 2008. First Report of Apium Virus Y on Cilantro, Celery, and Parsley in California. Plant Disease 92:1254.

Interpretive Summary: Recently Apium virus Y (ApVY) was detected in field grown cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), celery (Apium graveolens), and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) in California. Previously, in 2003, cilantro plants from 3 different fields in California showed symptoms of mosaic, vein clearing and stunting. When plant sap was examined under a transmission electron microscope, flexuous rod-shaped virus particles were observed. Total RNA was extracted from the symptomatic cilantro plants and used as a template in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The RT-PCR product was cloned into pGEM®-T and the insert of 1713 bp was sequenced. The sequence obtained from infected cilantro had 89 to 97% identity to ApVY sequences. In 2007, celery plants showing necrotic line patterns and necrotic lesions on lower leaves and petioles were observed in several fields in California. Flexuous rod-shaped virus particles were also found in the sap of those plants. ELISA test for Cucumber mosaic virus and RT-PCR for Celery mosaic virus were negative. The sequence of RT-PCR product from infected celery had 90 to 98% identity to ApVY. When the deduced amino acid sequences from both cilantro and celery were used for comparison, they showed 95% to 99% identity with the known ApVY sequences. Parsley plants adjacent to infected celery were also tested for ApVY. Although no symptoms were observed, RT-PCR using ApVY specific primers and direct sequencing indicated that parsley was also infected. ApVY previously has been reported on three Apiaceae weeds in Australia and celery in New Zealand. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ApVY on cilantro, celery, and parsley in California.

Technical Abstract: Recently Apium virus Y (ApVY) was detected in field grown cilantro (Coriandrum sativum), celery (Apium graveolens), and parsley (Petroselinum crispum) in California. Previously, in 2003, cilantro plants from 3 different fields in California showed symptoms of mosaic, vein clearing and stunting. When plant sap was examined under a transmission electron microscope, flexuous rod-shaped virus particles were observed. Total RNA was extracted from the symptomatic cilantro plants and used as a template in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using universal primers for PVY. The RT-PCR product was cloned into pGEM®-T (Promega) and the insert of 1713 bp was sequenced (GenBank Accession No. EU515125). The sequence obtained from infected cilantro had 89 to 97% identity to ApVY sequences in GenBank (Accession No. AY049716, EU127499, AF 207594, AF 203529, EU 255632). In 2007, celery plants showing necrotic line patterns and necrotic lesions on lower leaves and petioles were observed in several fields in California. Flexuous rod-shaped virus particles were also found in the sap of those plants. ELISA test for Cucumber mosaic virus and RT-PCR for Celery mosaic virus were negative. ApVY specific primers were designed based on the ApVY sequence from cilantro with reverse primer 5’-GGCTCTTGCTATAGACAAATAGT-3’ and forward primer 5’-GAAGACCAAGCCAATGTGTGTA-3’. The sequence of RT-PCR product (GenBank Accession No. EU515126) from infected celery had 90 to 98% identity to ApVY. When the deduced amino acid sequences from both cilantro and celery were used for comparison, they showed 95% to 99% identity with the known ApVY GenBank sequences mentioned above. Parsley plants adjacent to infected celery were also tested for ApVY. Although no symptoms were observed, RT-PCR using ApVY specific primers and direct sequencing indicated that parsley was also infected. ApVY previously has been reported on three Apiaceae weeds in Australia and celery in New Zealand. To our knowledge, this is the first report of ApVY on cilantro, celery, and parsley in California.