September 3, 2003
From:
Journal
Plant Pathology 2003; 85(1), March [edited]
Yellowing disease of melon in
Sardinia (Italy) caused by beet pseudoyellows virus
L Tomassoli <virologia@ispave.it>, V Lumia, M Barba (Istituto
Sperimentale per la Patologia vegetale, via CG Bertero 22,
I-00156 Roma, Italy), GF Siddu (ERSAT - Centro Zonale di
Arborea, Corso Italia 2, I-09092 Arborea (CA), Italy).
In 2001, a disease of melon characterized by leaf yellowing
was observed in Sardinia (Italy), where it caused severe damage.
Samples collected from several melon crops were positive in
single step reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction
(RT-PCR) assays for beet pseudoyellows virus (BPYV) when
specific primers were used. An amplicon of the same size as that
from BPYV controls (450 bp) was obtained from 14 out of 20
samples tested and had 98.4 per cent nucleotide sequence
identity with an authentic BPYV sequence.
This is the first experimental evidence of a yellowing
disease caused by BPYV in Italian melon crops.
[This piece is posted as a record of occurrence of BPYV in
Sardinia. According to Laura Tomassoli, BPYV infected melon
crops in glasshouses (_Cucumis melo_ var. _reticulatus_) and in
open fields for the cultivation of winter melon (_C. melo_ var.
_inodorus_). 50 per cent of the visited farms in the area of
Cagliari were infected. BPYV is transmitted in the
semi-persistent manner by the greenhouse whitefly (_Trialeurodes
vaporariorum_; _Aleyrodidae_). The host range of BPYV includes
several crop species such as beet (_Beta vulgaris_), lettuce
(_Lactuca sativa_), endive (_Cichorium endiva_), shepherd's
purse (_Capsella bursa-pastoris__), cucumber (_Cucumis
sativus_), dandelion (_Taraxacum officinale_), and poison
hemlock (_Conium maculatum_). These plants are natural hosts of
BPYV, and I would not be surprised if the virus were to become
established in one or more of these plant species. The virus is
reported in Australia (Tasmania), France, Japan, the
Netherlands, and the USA (California). I thank Laura Tomassoli
for providing information on the extent of the BPYV outbreak. -
Mod.DH]
