Differential reaction of sweet pepper to infection with the crinivirus tomato chlorosis virus probably depends on the viral variant

Authors: VICENTIN, EDUARDO - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); MITUTI, TATIANA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); NOGUEIRA, ANGELICA MARIA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); FECURY MOURA, MONIKA - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); BELLO, VINICIUS HENRIQ - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); RIBEIRO-JUNIOR, MARCOS - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); Wintermantel, William - Bill; FIALLO-OLIVE, ELVIRA - Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC); NAVAS-CASTILLO, JESUS - Consejo Superior De Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC); KRAUSSE-SAKATE, RENATE - Sao Paulo State University (UNESP); REZENDE, JORGE ALBERTO - Universidade De Sao Paulo

Submitted to: Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/12/2022
Publication Date: 4/25/2022
Citation: Vicentin, E., Mituti, T., Nogueira, A., Fecury Moura, M., Bello, V., Ribeiro-Junior, M.R., Wintermantel, W.M., Fiallo-Olive, E., Navas-Castillo, J., Krausse-Sakate, R., Rezende, J. 2022. Differential reaction of sweet pepper to infection with the crinivirus tomato chlorosis virus probably depends on the viral variant. Plant Pathology. 71(6):1313-1322. https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13572.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ppa.13572

Interpretive Summary: The crinivirus tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) is transmitted by whiteflies and causes significant diseases in several solanaceous crops including tomato, sweet pepper, and tomato. ToCV infects cultivated and wild plants belonging to 30 other botanical families. Worldwide reports of natural and experimental infection of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants with ToCV are contradictory, raising the question of whether the critical factor is the difference between the sweet pepper cultivars or the difference between virus isolates. In this work, ToCV isolates from different host plants and geographical origins were biologically and molecularly analyzed, and their ability to infect of different sweet pepper cultivars were evaluated by whitefly transmission of the virus isolates under different environmental conditions. Brazilian ToCV isolates from tomato and three related host plant species did not infect plants of five sweet pepper cultivars when transmitted by the whitefly. The growth of sweet pepper plants under different temperatures did not affect their susceptibility to ToCV-tomato isolates from São Paulo, Brazil and Florida, USA. However, ToCV-sweet pepper isolates from Spain and São Paulo, Brazil, were efficiently transmitted to sweet pepper plants by whitefly vectors. Results indicated that ToCV isolates obtained from naturally infected sweet pepper plants seem to be more adapted to plants of this species, but genetic comparisons among virus isolates from the different host plants did not reveal significant nucleotide differences. Additional studies are needed to identify intrinsic characteristics of the ToCV isolates that favor sweet pepper plant infection.

Technical Abstract: The crinivirus tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV), transmitted by different species of the genera Bemisia and Trialeurodes in a semi-persistent manner, causes significant diseases in several solanaceous crops including tomato, sweet pepper, and tomato. In addition, ToCV infects cultivated and wild plants belonging to 30 other botanical families. Worldwide reports of natural and experimental infection of sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum) plants with ToCV are contradictory, raising the question of whether the critical factor is the difference between the sweet pepper cultivars or the difference between virus isolates. In this work, ToCV isolates from different host plants and geographical origins were biological and molecularly analyzed, transmitted by B. tabaci MEAM1, and MED, and the reaction of different sweet pepper cultivars were evaluated under different environmental conditions. Brazilian ToCV isolates from tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), S. tuberosum, S. americanum, and P. angulate did not infect plants of five sweet pepper cultivars when transmitted by B. tabaci MEAM1. The growth of sweet pepper plants under different temperatures did not affect the susceptibility to ToCV-tomato isolates from São Paulo, Brazil and Florida, USA. However, ToCV-sweet pepper isolates from Spain and São Paulo, Brazil, were efficiently transmitted to sweet pepper plants by B. tabaci MEAM1 and MED. Although the results indicated that ToCV isolates obtained from naturally infected sweet pepper plants seem to be more adapted to plants of this species, phylogenetic analyses based on the complete nucleotide sequences of RNA1, RNA2, and the p22 gene did not reveal significant nucleotide differences. Additional studies are needed to identify intrinsic characteristics of the ToCV isolates that favor sweet pepper plant infection.