Washington, DC
October 3, 2007
ARS News Service
Agricultural Research Service, USDA
Ann Perry, (301) 504-1628,
ann.perry@ars.usda.gov
Bottlegourds have been used around the world for food, bottles,
bowls, spoons, musical instruments and even bird houses. Now a
"genetic" genie in the versatile bottlegourd may be used to
reduce virus infestation in watermelons.
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) plant pathologist Kai-Shu Ling and geneticist Amnon Levi
conduct research on plant diseases at the U.S. Vegetable
Laboratory in Charleston, S.C. They are looking for tools to
fight zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), which infects
cucurbit crops: cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash,
bottlegourds and watermelons.
Throughout North America, several viruses transmitted by
insects, including ZYMV, are especially troublesome to
watermelons and other cucurbit crops. Producers are anxious to
find new ways of suppressing these viruses. Previous research by
other scientists suggested that bottlegourd (Lagenaria
siceraria) had some genetic resistance to ZYMV, but this
research needed followup.
Ling and Levi obtained seeds for 190 bottlegourd accessions that
were collected from different parts of the world and kept at the
ARS Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit in Griffin, Ga.
They raised the seeds in their Charleston greenhouses, and then
inoculated the bottlegourd plants with ZYMV and evaluated how
well they resisted the virus.
To their surprise, 36 accessions of the 190 screened--33 from
India alone--were completely resistant to ZYMV infection, and
another 64 accessions were partially resistant. They also found
that ZYMV resistance is heritable in crosses between different
bottlegourd accessions, enabling the development of bottlegourd
varieties with enhanced virus resistance.
Popular watermelon cultivars could be grafted onto bottlegourd
rootstocks with enhanced resistance to bolster the watermelons’
ability to resist ZYMV. Some watermelon growers have already
been experimenting with grafting watermelon on bottlegourd
rootstocks to control soilborne diseases and to enhance fruit
production and quality.
Ling and Levi’s success in identifying disease-resistant
bottlegourd accessions will further efforts to find
environmentally friendly ways of controlling watermelon
pathogens and pests. For producers of a U.S. commodity worth
$435 million in 2006, that would be a wish come true.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific
research agency.
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Battling virus disease of watermelon with
bottlegourds |
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Source:
American Society for
Horticultural Science
New help may be on
the way for beleaguered growers of popular cucurbit
crops like cucumbers and watermelons. Many varieties
of the widely grown bottlegourd (Lagenaria
siceraria) appear to have resistance to Zucchini
yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), a scourge of commercial
cucurbits that includes pumpkins, squashes and other
kinds of melons, including watermelons. ZYMV infects
cucurbits throughout North America and in other
parts of world, and is a particular concern to U.S.
producers of watermelon, a crop valued at $435
million in 2006.
Two scientists with the Agricultural Research
Service (ARS), which is the chief intramural
scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA), are screening bottlegourds for
genetic resistance to ZYMV. Plant pathologist
Kai-Shu Ling and geneticist Amnon Levi, who work at
the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory in Charleston, S.C.,
have been searching for effective and
environmentally friendly techniques to control
watermelon pathogens and pests.
Ling and Levi obtained seeds for 190 bottlegourd
accessions that were collected from different parts
of the world and kept at the ARS Plant Genetic
Resources Conservation Unit in Griffin, Ga. They
raised the seeds in their Charleston greenhouses,
and then inoculated the bottlegourd plants with ZYMV
and evaluated how well they resisted the virus.
To their surprise, 36 accessions of the 190
screened—33 from India alone—were completely
resistant to ZYMV infection, and another 64
accessions were partially resistant. They also found
that ZYMV resistance is heritable in crosses between
different bottlegourd accessions, enabling the
development of bottlegourd varieties with enhanced
virus resistance.
Popular watermelon cultivars could be grafted onto
bottlegourd rootstocks with enhanced resistance to
bolster the watermelons’ ability to resist ZYMV.
Some watermelon growers have already been
experimenting with grafting watermelon on
bottlegourd rootstocks to control soilborne diseases
and to enhance fruit production and quality.
Read more about this research in the August 2007
issue of HortScience, accessible online at
http://hortsci.ashspublications.org/.
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Gen de porongo podría controlar un virus de cucúrbitas
Servicio Noticiero del Servicio de Investigación Agrícola
(ARS siglas en inglés)
Departamento de Agricultura (USDA siglas en inglés)
Ann Perry, (301) 504-1628,
ann.perry@ars.usda.gov
Los porongos han sido usados alrededor del mundo para comida,
botellas, boles, cucharas, instrumentos musicales y aun para
casas del pájaro. Ahora un "genio genético" en el porongo
versátil podría ser usado para reducir infestaciones de virus en
las sandías.
El patólogo de plantas Kai-Shu Ling y el genetista Amnon Levi,
ambos con el Servicio de Investigación Agrícola (ARS), realizan
investigaciones sobre las enfermedades de plantas en el
Laboratorio Estadounidense de Vegetales, mantenido por ARS en
Charleston, Carolina del Sur. Ellos están buscando herramientas
para combatir el virus del mosaico amarillo del calabacín (ZYMV
por sus siglas en inglés), el cual infecta a los cultivos de
cucúrbitas: pepinos, melones, calabazas redondas, calabacines,
porongos y sandías.
Alrededor de Norteamérica, varios virus transmitidos por
insectos, incluyendo ZYMV, son especialmente problemáticos para
las sandías y otros cultivos de cucúrbitas. Productores están
ansiosos de descubrir nuevas maneras para combatir estos virus.
Investigaciones anteriores por otros científicos indicaron que
el porongo (Lagenaria siceraria) tuvo alguna resistencia
genética a ZYMV, pero había necesidad de investigaciones
adicionales.
Ling y Levi obtuvieron semillas de 190 accesiones de porongo
colectadas de diferentes partes del mundo y mantenidas en la
Unidad de Conservación de Recursos Genéticos de Plantas
mantenida por ARS en Griffin, Georgia. Ellos cultivaron las
semillas en sus invernaderos en Charleston. Luego, inocularon
las plantas de porongo con ZYMV y evaluaron su nivel de
resistencia al virus.
Sorprendentemente, 36 accesiones de las 190 evaluadas --
incluyendo 33 de India -- fueron completamente resistentes a
infección por ZYMV, y otras 64 accesiones fueron parcialmente
resistentes. Ellos también descubrieron que la resistencia a
ZYMV es heredada en cruces entre diferentes accesiones de
porongo, permitiendo el desarrollo de variedades de porongo con
una resistencia aumentada al virus.
Variedades populares de sandía podrían ser injertadas con
patrones de porongo que tienen resistencia aumentada para
fortalecer la capacidad de la sandía de resistir ZYMV. Algunos
cultivadores de la sandía ya han experimentado con injertar la
sandía con patrones de porongo para controlar las enfermedades
presentes en el suelo y para aumentar la producción y calidad de
la fruta.
El éxito de Ling y Levi en identificar las accesiones de porongo
con resistencia a enfermedad adelantará intentos para descubrir
maneras amigables con el medio ambiente para controlar los
patógenos y las plagas de la sandía. Para los productores de
este producto estadounidense con un valor de 435 millones de
dólares en 2006, esto sería un deseo hecho realidad.
ARS es la agencia principal de investigaciones científicas
del Departamento de Agricultura de EE.UU. |
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