Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus Is Prevalent in Field-Grown Cucurbit Crops of Southeastern Spain

Abstract

Despite the importance of field-grown cucurbits in Spain, only limited information is available about the impact of disease on their production. During the 2003 and 2004 growing seasons, systematic surveys were carried out in open field melon (Cucumis melo) and squash (Cucurbita pepo) crops of Murcia Province (Spain). The fields were chosen with no previous information regarding their sanitation status, and samples were taken from plants showing viruslike symptoms. Samples were analyzed using molecular hybridization to detect Beet pseudo-yellows virus (BPYV), Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV), Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV), Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV). We collected 924 samples from 48 field plots. Out of these, almost 90% were infected by at least one of the viruses considered, usually CABYV, which was present in 83 and 66% of the melon and squash samples, respectively. In the case of melon, CYSDV, BPYV, and WMV followed CABYV in relative importance, with frequencies of around 20 to 30%, while in squash, CVYV and BPYY showed frequencies between 28 and 21%. The number of multiple infections was very high, 66 and 56% of the infected samples of melon and squash, respectively, being afflicted. CABYV was present in all multiple infections. The high incidence of CABYV in single and multiple infections suggests that this virus may well become an important threat for cucurbit crops in the region. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis revealed that CABYV isolates can be grouped into two genetic types, both of which seemed to be present during the 2003 epidemic episode, but only one of the types was found in 2004.

Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus in Egypt

“…In general, symptoms consisted of interveinal chlorosis of the basal and older leaves with brittle and thick aspect. Similar symptoms have been described previously in cucurbit crops and found to be caused by CABYV (Kassem et al 2007;Lecoq et al 1992;Mnari-Hattab et al 2009). In addition, we noticed in symptomatic plants a reduction of the fruit number, but no effect on fruit quality and shape was detected (not illustrated).…”

“…This important percentage reflected the high incidence of CABYV in the fields (Table 1), and demonstrated the prevalence of CABYV in squash-growing fields of Egypt. Such a high incidence of CABYV was reported also in other countries like Lebanon, Spain, Tunisia and China (Abou-Jawdah et al 2000;Kassem et al 2007;Mnari-Hattab et al 2009;Shang et al 2009). In accord with our observations, all these regions had an abundance of aphids in open fields.…”

Relative incidence, spatial distribution and genetic diversity of cucurbit viruses in eastern Spain

“…Virus detection was performed as described by Kassem et al (2007). Samples were used immediately after collection for the detection of viruses by dot-blot hybridisation.…”

“…Several counties of the Valencian Community (eastern Spain) have a longstanding tradition of cucurbits cultivation, in particular watermelon, melon, pumpkin, cucumber and squash. For instance, CABYV was found to be the prevalent virus infecting cucurbit crops of the Murcia region (South-eastern Spain), with incidences reaching 100% of the plants in affected fields (Kassem et al, 2007), and WMV was found to have a very high relative incidence in this and other Spanish areas (Luis-Arteaga et al, 1998;Moreno et al, 2004). Indeed, more than 35 different viruses have been described infecting cucurbits (Provvidenti, 1996), and at least ten of them have been identified in Spanish cucurbit crops causing infections with serious economic repercussions (Luis-Arteaga et al, 1998;Kassem et al, 2007).…”

EcoTILLING for the identification of allelic variants of melon eIF4E, a factor that controls virus susceptibility

“…Virus resistance is a major melon breeding objective, as several diseases caused by viruses have great economical impact in melon crops worldwide. Significant examples include the cucumovirus (family Bromoviridae ) Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), the potyviruses (family Potyviridae ) Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), the ipomovirus (family Potyviridae ) Cucumber vein yellowing virus (CVYV), the crinivirus (family Closteroviridae ) Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) and the carmovirus (family Tombusviridae ) Melon necrotic spot virus (MNSV) [23-25]. Despite this, not many natural resistance genes have been identified and introgressed into commercial melon cultivars.…”