No abstract

During a survey conducted in several different regions of Brazil, two unique tospoviruses were isolated and characterized, one from chrysanthemum and the other from zucchini. The chrysanthemum virus displayed a broad host range, whereas the virus from zucchini was restricted mainly to the family Cucurbitaceae. Double-antibody sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western immunoblot analyses demonstrated that both viruses were serologically distinct from all reported tospovirus species including the recently proposed peanut yellow spot virus and iris yellow spot virus (IYSV) species. The nucleotide sequences of the nucleocapsid (N) genes of both viruses contain 780 nucleotides encoding for deduced proteins of 260 amino acids. The N proteins of these two viruses displayed amino acid sequence similarities with the previously described tospovirus species ranging from 20 to 75%, but they were more closely related to each other (80%). Based on the biological and molecular features, these viruses are proposed as two new tospovirus species, designated chrysanthemum stem necrosis virus (CSNV) and zucchini lethal chlorosis virus (ZLCV). With the identification of CSNV and ZLCV, in addition to tomato spotted wilt virus, groundnut ring spot virus, tomato chlorotic spot virus, and IYSV, Brazil harbors the broadest spectrum of tospovirus species reported.

The development of tomato spotted wilt tospovirus (TSWV) infection in the midgut and salivary glands of transmitting and non-transmitting thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis, was studied to elucidate tissue tropism and the virus pathway within the body of this vector. Immunohistological techniques used in this study showed that the midgut, foregut and salivary glands were the only organs in which virus accumulated. The first signals of infection, observed as randomly distributed fluorescent granular spots, were found in the epithelial cells of the midgut, mainly restricted to the anterior region. The virus subsequently spread to the circular and longitudinal midgut muscle tissues, a process which occurred late in the larval stage. In the adult stage, the infection occurred in the visceral muscle tissues, covering the whole midgut and foregut, and was abolished in the midgut epithelium. The infection of the salivary glands was first observed 72 h post-acquisition, and simultaneously in the ligaments connecting the midgut with these glands. The salivary glands of transmitting individuals appeared heavily or completely infected, while no or only a low level of infection was found in the glands of non-transmitting individuals. Moreover, the development of an age-dependent midgut barrier against virus infection was observed in second instar larvae and adults. The results show that the establishment of TSWV infection in the various tissues and the potential of transmission seems to be regulated by different barriers and processes related to the metamorphosis of thrips.

Surface-sensitive and polarization-dependent near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) measurements clearly reveal a preferred in-plane and out-of-plane orientation of phenyl and CO groups at the surface of rubbed polyimide films. The unidirectional molecular alignment at the surface is argued to provide the template for liquid crystal (LC) alignment of the films. Both the LC orientation along the rubbing direction as well as the direction of the out-of-plane LC pretilt are explained in a simple model. In this model the LC direction follows the preferential orientation of the phenyl rings at the surface. The preferred phenyl orientation is explained in terms of preferential chain segment alignment through a pulling action of the rubbing cloth fibers. The proposed LC alignment model is based on the existence of a statistically significant unidirectional bond asymmetry at the polymer surface, and it does not require the existence of crystalline order.

The tospoviruses Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), Tomato chlorotic spot virus (TCSV), Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV) and Chrysanthemum stem necrosis virus (CSNV) are well-known pathogens on tomato in Brazil. The thrips species Frankliniella occidentalis , F. schultzei , Thrips tabaci and T. palmi were studied for their competence to transmit these tospoviruses. Frankliniella occidentalis transmitted all four tospoviruses with different efficiencies. Frankliniella schultzei transmitted TCSV, GRSV and CSNV. Although F. schultzei has been reported as a vector of TSWV, the F. schultzei population in the present study did not transmit the TSWV isolate used. A population of T. tabaci known to transmit Iris yellow spot virus (onion isolate) did not transmit any of the studied tospoviruses, and nor did T. palmi . Replication of these tospoviruses could be demonstrated by ELISA, not only in the thrips species that could transmit them, but also in those that could not. The results strongly suggest that competence to transmit is regulated not only by the initial amount of virus acquired and replication, but also by possible barriers to virus circulation inside the thrip's body.