Judith K Brown

Zia-Ur-Rehman, M., Hameed, U., Herrmann, H-W, Iqbal, M.J., Haider, M.S., and Brown, J.K. 2015. First report of Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus infecting tomato in Pakistan. Plant Dis. 99:1287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-02-15-0202-PDN

Abstract:

There are measurable differences between whitefly populations from different biogeographic backgrounds. These differences influence the capacity of B. tabaci (Hemiptera: Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) populations to vector WFT geminiviruses and are seen in whitefly host range phenotypes and host preferences that affect the ability and efficiency of whitefly mediated geminivirus transmission to and from certain hosts. Also suggestive of differences between populations are variable levels of fecundity, and that females do not mate with males from (putatively) genetically distinct populations.

PMID: 18621976;PMCID: PMC2528111;Abstract:

A silencing vector for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) was developed from the geminivirus Cotton leaf crumple virus (CLCrV). The CLCrV coat protein gene was replaced by up to 500 bp of DNA homologous to one of two endogenous genes, the magnesium chelatase subunit I gene (ChlI) or the phytoene desaturase gene (PDS). Cotyledons of cotton cultivar 'Deltapine 5415' bombarded with the modified viral vectors manifested chlorosis due to silencing of either ChlI or PDS in approximately 70% of inoculated plants after 2 to 3 weeks. Use of the green fluorescence protein gene showed that replication of viral DNA was restricted to vascular tissue and that the viral vector could transmit to leaves, roots, and the ovule integument from which fibers originate. Temperature had profound effects on vector DNA accumulation and the spread of endogenous gene silencing. Consistent with reports that silencing against viruses increases at higher temperatures, plants grown at a 30°C/26°C day/night cycle had a greater than 10-fold reduction in viral DNA accumulation compared to plants grown at 22°C/18°C. However, endogenous gene silencing decreased at 30°C/26°C. There was an approximately 7 d delay in the onset of gene silencing at 22°C/18°C, but silencing was extensive and persisted throughout the life of the plant. The extent of silencing in new growth could be increased or decreased by changing temperature regimes at various times following the onset of silencing. Our experiments establish the use of the CLCrV silencing vector to study gene function in cotton and show that temperature can have a major impact on the extent of geminivirus-induced gene silencing. © 2008 American Society of Plant Biologists.

Abstract:

Plant samples from important horticultural areas in Mexico and the southern United States were collected during several seasons and analyzed for the presence of geminiviruses by a combination of agarose gel electrophoresis, molecular hybridization, and polymerase chain reaction amplification techniques. A general detection strategy confirmed the presence of geminiviruses in all horticultural areas of Mexico in pepper, tomato, tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa), cucurbits, and tobacco. Specific detection procedures showed that pepper huasteco virus is widely distributed in Mexico; it was found in pepper and tomato samples in both coastal areas, as well as in central Mexico. It was also found in pepper samples from the Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas. Pepper jalapeno virus (PJV) and chino del tomate virus (CdTV) showed a more restricted distribution, although, in all cases, the viruses appeared to become more widely distributed over time. Partial DNA sequences of PJV and CdTV were also obtained. Comparative sequence analysis showed that PJV and the previously described Texas pepper geminivirus are probably strains of the same virus. The name pepper jalapeno virus is, thus, withdrawn to avoid further confusion. Similarly, CdTV showed a very high level of sequence identity with the recently described tomato leaf crumple virus (TLCrV), also suggesting that they both are strains of the same virus.

Abstract:

The molecular size limitations of the digestive system, including the filter chamber of immature and adult Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) B biotype (= B. argentifolii), were studied by tracking the movement of fluorescent-labeled molecules and microspheres ingested by whiteflies. Soluble fluorescent molecules and labeled dextrans, ranging from 389 to 2,000,000 Da, were observed throughout the digestive tract of immatures 10-30 min after feeding was initiated. After removal of labeled molecules from the diet, fluorochromes were cleared from digestive system of immatures within 2 h. Fluorescent-labeled 0.1 - and 0.2-μm microspheres were ingested by larvae and saturated the digestive system within 2 h after initiation of feeding. Large, 0.5-μm spheres were not observed in the digestive tract of immatures, probably because singly or as aggregates, they were too large to enter the stylet food canal. The smallest spheres examined, 0.02 μm, were not detectable in the digestive tract of immatures. Observations for whitefly adults were identical to those for larvae, with two exceptions. In adults, soluble fluorochromes were detectable1 h after feeding commenced, and 0.02-μm spheres were observed primarily in the esophagus, filter chamber, anterior midgut, and hindgut, but not in the posterior portions of the midgut. We hypothesize that most of the 0.02-μm spheres ingested by adult whiteflies were shunted directly to the hindgut by way of the filter chamber, effectively bypassing the midgut. This is, therefore, a feasible route for virions of the plant pathogenic genus Begomovirus, which are of similar size to the small microspheres and are transmitted in a circulative manner by B. tabaci.