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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #194360
Title: A NOVEL WHITEFLY-TRANSMITTED POTYVIRUS ISOLATED FROM CUCURBITS IN FLORIDA

Author
item Adkins, Scott
item WEBB, S. E. - UNIV. OF FLORIDA
item ACHOR, D. - UNIV. OF FLORIDA
item BAKER, C. A. - FDACS-DPI

Submitted to: Phytopathology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2006
Publication Date: 6/1/2006
Citation: Adkins, S.T., Webb, S., Achor, D., Baker, C. 2006. A novel whitefly-transmitted potyvirus isolated from cucurbits in Florida. Phytopathology. 96:S3.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A novel whitefly-transmitted potyvirus was isolated from a squash plant (Cucurbita pepo) with vein yellowing symptoms in Florida. The virus, for which the name Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) is proposed, has flexuous rod-shaped particles, ~900 nm in length. Koch’s postulates were completed by mechanical inoculation of C. pepo seedlings with isolated virions. The experimental host range was limited to species in the Cucurbitaceae, with most dramatic symptoms in squash and watermelon, and excluded all tested species in the Amaranthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Chenopodiaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae and Solanaceae. The virus was not transmitted by aphids (Myzus persicae) but was transmitted by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci). Infection by SqVYV induced inclusion bodies visible by electron microscopy that were characteristic of members of the Potyviridae. Comparison of the SqVYV coat protein gene and protein sequences with those of recognized members of the Potyviridae indicate that it is a novel ipomovirus. A limited survey revealed that SqVYV was also present in watermelons suffering from a mature vine decline and fruit rot recently observed in Florida.