First report of Cassava brown streak viruses on wild plant species in Mozambique

Publication date: Available online 28 October 2018Source: Physiological and Molecular Plant PathologyAuthor(s): Jamisse J.G. Amisse, Joseph Ndunguru, Fred Tairo, Laura M. Boykin, Monica A. Kehoe, Nurbibi Cossa, Elijah Ateka, Chrissie Rey, Peter SseruwagiAbstractCassava brown streak disease (CBSD) caused by Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV) is the main constraint to cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production in Mozambique. Using RT-PCR to amplify partial coat protein nucleotide sequences, we detected for the first time the occurrence of CBSV in two non-cassava perennial wild plant species: Zanha africana (Radlk.) Exell. and Trichodesma zeylanicum (Burm.f.) R.Br., that occur widely within and near cassava fields in Nampula, Zambezia, Niassa and Cabo Delgado provinces. In addition, we also detected CBSV and UCBSV in Manihot carthaginensis subsp. glaziovii (Müell-Arg.) Allem., a wild cassava relative. These findings were verified in biological assays through mechanical inoculation of CBSV to T. zeylanicum, albeit at low rates of infection. Phylogenetic analysis clustered the CBSV isolates from the non-cassava plant species with those from cultivated cassava, with high sequence homology among CBSV (91.0–99.6%) and with UCBSV (84–92%) isolates. These results provide definitive evidence of a wider host range for CBSV and UCBSV in Mozambique, indicating that these viruses are not restricted to cultivated cassava. Our findings are...
Source: Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research