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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Miami, Florida » Subtropical Horticulture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #373449
Research Project: Development and Application of Genomic-assisted Breeding Strategies to Produce Disease-resistant Cacao Genetic Resources

Location: Subtropical Horticulture Research

Title: Complete genome sequences of Cacao mild mosaic virus (CaMMV) reveal three distinct isolates infecting Theobroma cacao L. in Puerto Rico and Brazil

Author
item RAMOS-SOBRINHO, ROBERTO - University Of Arizona
item KEITH, CORY VON - University Of Arizona
item Puig, Alina
item NAGATA, TATSUYA - University Of Brasilia
item Gutierrez, Osman
item MARELLI, JEAN-PHILIPPE - M & M Mars Company - United States
item Goenaga, Ricardo
item BROWN, JUDITH - University Of Arizona

Submitted to: American Phytopathological Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/13/2020
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) is a socio-economically important crop grown throughout much of the tropics. Although cacao-infecting badnaviruses have been associated with economic losses in West Africa, very little attention has been given to cacao diseases caused by badnaviruses in the Americas. Recently, two badnaviruses Cacao mild mosaic virus (CaMMV) and Cacao yellow vein banding virus (CYVBV) have been identified in symptomatic cacao plants maintained in the cacao germplasm collection in Trinidad. To learn more about badnavirus distribution in cacao in Puerto Rico and Brazil, leaf samples were collected from trees exhibiting virus-like symptoms during 2019 and subjected to Illumina sequencing. Complete viral genomes were validated by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing. Six complete badnaviral genomes were determined, ranging in size from 7,520-7,532 bp. Pairwise comparisons of the RT-RNase H region indicated that the isolates are CaMMV, sharing their highest nucleotide identity at 89.0-96.5% with CaMMV from Trinidad (GenBank Accession no KX276640). Based on Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of the full-length genome sequences, the CaMMV isolates grouped in the same clade and were divergent from cacao-infecting badnaviruses from West Africa. The occurrence of CaMMV in cacao in Puerto Rico, USA and in Brazil represents a potential new threat to cacao cultivation in the Americas if found to be detrimental to production.