Three distinct begomoviruses associated with soybean in central Brazil

Influence of Climatic Variables on Incidence of Whitefly-Transmitted Begomovirus in Soybean and Bean Crops in North-Western Argentina

Over the last 20 years, begomoviruses have emerged as devastating pathogens, limiting the production of different crops worldwide. Weather conditions increase vector populations, with negative effects on crop production. In this work we evaluate the relationship between the incidence of begomovirus and weather before and during the crop cycle. Soybean and bean fields from north-western (NW) Argentina were monitored between 2001 and 2018 and classified as moderate (≤50%) or severe (>50%) according to the begomovirus incidence. Bean golden mosaic virus (BGMV) and soybean blistering mosaic virus (SbBMV) were the predominant begomovirus in bean and soybean crops, respectively. Nearly 200 bio-meteorological variables were constructed by summarizing climatic variables in 10-day periods from July to November of each crop year. The studied variables included temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, wind (speed and direction), pressure, cloudiness, and visibility. For bean, high maximum winter temperatures, low spring humidity, and precipitation 10 days before planting correlated with severe incidence. In soybeans, high temperatures in late winter and in the pre-sowing period, and low spring precipitations were found to be good predictors of high incidence of begomovirus. The results suggest that temperature and pre-sowing precipitations can be used to predict the incidence status [predictive accuracy: 80% (bean) and 75% (soybean)]. Thus, these variables can be incorporated in early warning systems for crop management decision-making to reduce the virus impact on bean and soybean crops.

Sida chlorotic leaf virus: a new recombinant begomovirus found in non-cultivated plants and Cucumis sativus L

Background

Begomoviruses are circular single-stranded DNA plant viruses that cause economic losses worldwide. Weeds have been pointed out as reservoirs for many begomoviruses species, especially from members of the Sida and Malvastrum genera. These weeds have the ability to host multiple begomoviruses species simultaneously, which can lead to the emergence of new viral species that can spread to commercial crops. Additionally, begomoviruses have a natural tendency to recombine, resulting in the emergence of new variants and species.

Methods

To explore the begomoviruses biodiversity in weeds from genera Sida and Malvastrum in Colima, México, we collected symptomatic plants from these genera throughout the state. To identify BGVs infecting weeds, we performed circular DNA genomics (circomics) using the Illumina platform. Contig annotation was conducted with the BLASTn tool using the GenBank nucleotide "nr" database. We corroborated by PCR the presence of begomoviruses in weeds samples and isolated and sequenced the complete genome of a probable new species of begomovirus using the Sanger method. The demarcation process for new species determination followed the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses criteria. Phylogenetic and recombination analyses were implemented to infer the evolutionary relationship of the new virus.

Results

We identified a new begomovirus species from sida and malvastrum plants that has the ability to infect Cucumis sativus L. According to our findings, the novel species Sida chlorotic leaf virus is the result of a recombination event between one member of the group known as the Squash leaf curl virus (SLCV) clade and another from the Abutilon mosaic virus (AbMV) clade. Additionally, we isolated three previously identified begomoviruses species, two of which infected commercial crops: okra (Okra yellow mosaic Mexico virus) and cucumber (Cucumber chlorotic leaf virus).

Conclusion

These findings support the idea that weeds act as begomovirus reservoirs and play essential roles in begomovirus biodiversity. Therefore, controlling their populations near commercial crops must be considered in order to avoid the harmful effects of these phytopathogens and thus increase agricultural efficiency, ensuring food and nutritional security.

Molecular and biological characterization of an isolate of the potyvirus passiflora virus Y naturally infecting soybean (Glycine max) in Brazil

Passiflora virus Y was detected naturally infecting soybean (Glycine max) for the first time in Brazil. Here, we report the nearly complete genome sequence and molecular and biological properties of the PaVY-Br isolate. The nearly complete genome sequence is 9679 nt long and shares 84.4% nt sequence identity with a previously reported PaVY isolate from Passiflora sp. PaVY-Br induced chlorotic spots and systemic mosaic on soybean and chlorotic local lesions on yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and sesame (Sesamum indicum). The virus was successfully transmitted by Myzus persicae, indicating that this aphid vector can contribute to the spread of PaYV from passion fruit to soybean plants. Additional epidemiological research is in progress to investigate the distribution of PaVY in soybean production areas in Brazil.

Complete Genome Sequence of a Novel Monopartite Mastrevirus, Soybean Geminivirus B, Isolated from Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill)

Soybean is one of the most important crops in Korea. To identify the viruses infecting soybean, we conducted RNA sequencing with samples displaying symptoms of viral disease. A contig displaying sequence similarity to the known Geminivirus was identified. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two different pairs of back-to-back primers and rolling circle amplification (RCA) confirmed the complete genome of a novel virus named soybean geminivirus B (SGVB), consisting of a circular monopartite DNA genome measuring 2616 nucleotides (nt) in length. SGVB contains four open reading frames (ORFs) and three intergenic regions (IRs). IR1 includes a nonanucleotide origin of replication in the stem-loop structure. Phylogenetic and BLAST analyses demonstrated that SGVB could be a novel virus belonging to the genus Mastrevirus in the family Geminiviridae. We generated infectious clones for SGVB by adding a copy of the IR1 region of SGVB, comparing the V-ori in addition to the full-length genome of SGVB. Using the infectious clones, we observed chlorosis and leaf curling with a latent infection in the inoculated Nicotiana benthamiana plants, while none of the inoculated soybean plants showed any visible symptoms of disease. This study provides the complete genome sequence and infectious clones of a novel Mastrevirus referred to as SGVB from soybean in Korea.

Insights into Emerging Begomovirus-Deltasatellite Complex Diversity: The First Deltasatellite Infecting Legumes

Begomoviruses and associated DNA satellites are involved in pathosystems that include many cultivated and wild dicot plants and the whitefly vector Bemisia tabaci. A survey of leguminous plants, both crops and wild species, was conducted in Venezuela, an understudied country, to determine the presence of begomoviruses. Molecular analysis identified the presence of bipartite begomoviruses in 37% of the collected plants. Four of the six begomoviruses identified constituted novel species, and two others had not been previously reported in Venezuela. In addition, a novel deltasatellite (cabbage leaf curl deltasatellite, CabLCD) was found to be associated with cabbage leaf curl virus (CabLCV) in several plant species. CabLCD was the first deltasatellite found to infect legumes and the first found in the New World to infect a crop plant. Agroinoculation experiments using Nicotiana benthamiana plants and infectious viral clones confirmed that CabLCV acts as a helper virus for CabLCD. The begomovirus-deltasatellite complex described here is also present in wild legume plants, suggesting the possible role of these plants in the emergence and establishment of begomoviral diseases in the main legume crops in the region. Pathological knowledge of these begomovirus-deltasatellite complexes is fundamental to develop control methods to protect leguminous crops from the diseases they cause.

Intra-host evolution of the ssDNA virus tomato severe rugose virus (ToSRV)

To evaluate and quantify the evolutionary dynamics of the bipartite begomovirus tomato severe rugose virus (ToSRV) in a cultivated and a non-cultivated host, plants of tomato and Nicandra physaloides were biolistically inoculated with an infectious clone and systemically infected leaves were sampled at 30, 75 and 120 days after inoculation. Total DNA was extracted and sequenced in the Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform. The datasets were trimmed with the quality score limit set to 0.01, and the assembly was performed using the infectious clone sequence as reference. SNPs were filtered using a minimum p-value of 0.001 and the sum frequencies were used to calculate the deviation from the original clone sequence. Nucleotide substitution rates were calculated for the two DNA components in both hosts: 1.73 × 10^-3 and 3.07 × 10^-4 sub/site/year for the DNA-A and DNA-B, respectively, in N. physaloides, and 8.05 × 10^-4 and 7.02 × 10^-5 sub/site/year the for DNA-A and DNA-B, respectively, in tomato. These values are in the same range of those estimated for viruses with single-stranded RNA genomes and for other begomoviruses. Strikingly, the number of substitutions decreased over time, suggesting the presence of bottlenecks during systemic infection. Determination of Shannon's entropy indicated different patterns of variation in the DNA-A and the DNA-B, suggesting distinct evolutionary forces acting upon each component.

Transmission of the Bean-Associated Cytorhabdovirus by the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci MEAM1

The knowledge of genomic data of new plant viruses is increasing exponentially; however, some aspects of their biology, such as vectors and host range, remain mostly unknown. This information is crucial for the understanding of virus–plant interactions, control strategies, and mechanisms to prevent outbreaks. Typically, rhabdoviruses infect monocot and dicot plants and are vectored in nature by hemipteran sap-sucking insects, including aphids, leafhoppers, and planthoppers. However, several strains of a potentially whitefly-transmitted virus, papaya cytorhabdovirus, were recently described: (i) bean-associated cytorhabdovirus (BaCV) in Brazil, (ii) papaya virus E (PpVE) in Ecuador, and (iii) citrus-associated rhabdovirus (CiaRV) in China. Here, we examine the potential of the Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) to transmit BaCV, its morphological and cytopathological characteristics, and assess the incidence of BaCV across bean producing areas in Brazil. Our results show that BaCV is efficiently transmitted, in experimental conditions, by B. tabaci MEAM1 to bean cultivars, and with lower efficiency to cowpea and soybean. Moreover, we detected BaCV RNA in viruliferous whiteflies but we were unable to visualize viral particles or viroplasm in the whitefly tissues. BaCV could not be singly isolated for pathogenicity tests, identification of the induced symptoms, and the transmission assay. BaCV was detected in five out of the seven states in Brazil included in our study, suggesting that it is widely distributed throughout bean producing areas in the country. This is the first report of a whitefly-transmitted rhabdovirus.

Barcoding of Plant Viruses with Circular Single-Stranded DNA Based on Rolling Circle Amplification

The experience with a diagnostic technology based on rolling circle amplification (RCA), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses, and direct or deep sequencing (Circomics) over the past 15 years is surveyed for the plant infecting geminiviruses, nanoviruses and associated satellite DNAs, which have had increasing impact on agricultural and horticultural losses due to global transportation and recombination-aided diversification. Current state methods for quarantine measures are described to identify individual DNA components with great accuracy and to recognize the crucial role of the molecular viral population structure as an important factor for sustainable plant protection.

Complete genome sequence of jacquemontia yellow vein virus, a novel begomovirus infecting Jacquemontia tamnifolia in Venezuela

Wild plants of the family Convolvulaceae are hosts for a few New World begomoviruses (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae). In this work, we report the complete genome sequence of a new begomovirus infecting the wild convolvulaceous plant Jacquemontia tamnifolia in Venezuela. The cloned bipartite genome showed the organization of typical New World begomoviruses and was found to be phylogenetically related to those of begomoviruses from Venezuela and other Caribbean countries. Several recombination events have been shown to have occurred involving genome fragment exchange with related begomoviruses infecting crops such as tomato and cucurbits and wild plants, including Jacquemontia sp. We propose the name jacquemontia yellow vein virus (JacYVV) for this new begomovirus.

Tropical food legumes: virus diseases of economic importance and their control

Diverse array of food legume crops (Fabaceae: Papilionoideae) have been adopted worldwide for their protein-rich seed. Choice of legumes and their importance vary in different parts of the world. The economically important legumes are severely affected by a range of virus diseases causing significant economic losses due to reduction in grain production, poor quality seed, and costs incurred in phytosanitation and disease control. The majority of the viruses infecting legumes are vectored by insects, and several of them are also seed transmitted, thus assuming importance in the quarantine and in the epidemiology. This review is focused on the economically important viruses of soybean, groundnut, common bean, cowpea, pigeonpea, mungbean, urdbean, chickpea, pea, faba bean, and lentil and begomovirus diseases of three minor tropical food legumes (hyacinth bean, horse gram, and lima bean). Aspects included are geographic distribution, impact on crop growth and yields, virus characteristics, diagnosis of causal viruses, disease epidemiology, and options for control. Effectiveness of selection and planting with virus-free seed, phytosanitation, manipulation of crop cultural and agronomic practices, control of virus vectors and host plant resistance, and potential of transgenic resistance for legume virus disease control are discussed.

Contrasting genetic structure between two begomoviruses infecting the same leguminous hosts

Begomoviruses are whitefly-transmitted, ssDNA plant viruses and are among the most damaging pathogens causing epidemics in economically important crops worldwide. Wild/non-cultivated plants play a crucial epidemiological role, acting as begomovirus reservoirs and as ‘mixing vessels' where recombination can occur. Previous work suggests a higher degree of genetic variability in begomovirus populations from non-cultivated hosts compared with cultivated hosts. To assess this supposed host effect on the genetic variability of begomovirus populations, cultivated (common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, and lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus) and non-cultivated (Macroptilium lathyroides) legume hosts were sampled from two regions of Brazil. A total of 212 full-length DNA-A genome segments were sequenced from samples collected between 2005 and 2012, and populations of the begomoviruses Bean golden mosaic virus (BGMV) and Macroptilium yellow spot virus (MaYSV) were obtained. We found, for each begomovirus species, similar genetic variation between populations infecting cultivated and non-cultivated hosts, indicating that the presumed genetic variability of the host did not a priori affect viral variability. We observed a higher degree of genetic variation in isolates from MaYSV populations than BGMV populations, which was explained by numerous recombination events in MaYSV. MaYSV and BGMV showed distinct distributions of genetic variation, with the BGMV population (but not MaYSV) being structured by both host and geography.

Soybean chlorotic spot virus, a novel begomovirus infecting soybean in Brazil

A novel soybean-infecting begomovirus from Brazil was identified in Jaíba, in the state of Minas Gerais, and molecularly characterized. By using rolling-circle amplification-based cloning of viral DNAs, three DNA-A variants and a cognate DNA-B were isolated from infected samples. The DNA variants share more than 98 % sequence identity but have less than 89 % identity to other reported begomovirus, the limit for demarcation of new species. In a phylogenetic analysis, both DNA-A and DNA-B clustered with other Brazilian begomoviruses. Infectious cloned DNA-A and DNA-B components induced distinct symptoms in Solanaceae and Fabaceae species by biolistic inoculation. In soybean, the virus induced mild symptoms, i.e., chlorotic spots on the leaves, from which the name soybean chlorotic spot virus (SoCSV) was proposed. The most severe symptoms were displayed by common beans, which exhibited leaf distortion, blistering, interveinal chlorosis, mosaic and golden mosaic. The possibility that SoCSV may become a threat to bean production in Brazil is discussed.

Further evidence reveals that okra mottle virus arose from a double recombination event

As a result of surveys of okra begomoviruses (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) conducted over the last five years in Central Brazil, we report the complete genome sequence of an isolate of okra mottle virus (OMoV). The DNA-A and DNA-B components were 2660 and 2653 nucleotides (nt) long, respectively, and they were most closely related to the DNA-A (~99 % nt identity) and DNA-B (~98 % nt identity) components of an OMoV isolate from a soybean plant. A phylogenetic tree was generated based on these sequences, and it was shown that both of the OMoV DNA components were grouped in a branch with Brazilian begomoviruses known to infect weeds. By recombination analysis, strong evidence was observed that the OMoV genome may have been the product of a double inter-species recombination event.

The genomes of four novel begomoviruses and a new Sida micrantha mosaic virus strain from Bolivian weeds

Begomovirus is the largest genus within the family Geminiviridae and includes economically important plant DNA viruses infecting a broad range of plant species and causing devastating crop diseases, mainly in subtropical and tropical countries. Besides cultivated plants, many weeds act as virus reservoirs. Eight begomovirus isolates from Bolivian weeds were examined using rolling-circle amplification (RCA) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). An efficient, novel cloning strategy using limited Sau3A digestion to obtain tandem-repeat inserts allowed the sequencing of the complete genomes. The viruses were classified by phylogenetic analysis as typical bipartite New World begomoviruses. Four of them represented distinct new virus species, for which the names Solanum mosaic Bolivia virus, Sida mosaic Bolivia virus 1, Sida mosaic Bolivia virus 2, and Abutilon mosaic Bolivia virus are proposed. Three were variants of a new strain of Sida micrantha mosaic virus (SimMV), SimMV-rho[BoVi07], SimMV-rho[Bo:CF1:07] and SimMV-rho[Bo:CF2:07], and one was a new variant of a previously described SimMV, SimMV-MGS2:07-Bo.

Two new 'legumoviruses' (genus Begomovirus) naturally infecting soybean in Nigeria

Two new 'legumoviruses' (genus Begomovirus; family Geminiviridae) naturally infecting soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) in Nigeria were molecularly characterized. Based on characteristic symptoms in soybean, the two viruses are provisionally designated as Soybean mild mottle virus (SbMMV) and Soybean chlorotic blotch virus (SbCBV). SbCBV has a bipartite genome, whereas SbMMV has only a DNA A component. The DNA A component of SbMMV is 2,768 nucleotides (nt) long and the DNA A and DNA B components of SbCBV are 2,708 and 2,647 nt long, respectively. In pairwise comparisons, the DNA A component of SbMMV and SbCBV showed 62% nt sequence identity, indicating that these two viruses are distinct. Whereas the DNA A of SbMMV contains two virion- and four complementary-sense open reading frames, that of SbCBV lacks the virus-sense AV2, a signature gene present in 'Old World' begomoviruses. A pairwise comparison with the corresponding nucleotide sequence of other begomoviruses in the databases indicated that SbCBV had a maximum of 74% identity with cowpea golden mosaic virus and SbMMV had a maximum of 65% identity with mungbean yellow mosaic India virus and kudzu mosaic virus. Phylogenetic analysis of the DNA A component of SbCBV and SbMMV together with those of other begomoviruses available in the databases showed clustering of the two viruses within the 'legumovirus' clade of the begomovirus phylogenetic tree. In addition, the DNA A and B components of SbCBV from Centrosema pubescens Benth were found to be identical to those from soybean, indicating that leguminous wild species are a potential alternative host for the virus. Since soybean is an introduced crop, the identification of two distinct begomoviruses naturally infecting soybean in Nigeria suggests the occurrence of 'legumoviruses' in plant species indigenous to Africa and underscores their potential threat to sustainable cultivation of soybean on the African continent.