Development of a molecular assay for the general detection of tospoviruses and the distinction between tospoviral species

Pest categorisation of Capsicum chlorosis virus

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health conducted a pest categorisation of Capsicum chlorosis virus (CaCV) for the EU territory. The identity of CaCV, a member of the genus Orthotospovirus (family Tospoviridae), is established and reliable detection and identification methods are available. The pathogen is not included in the EU Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/2072. CaCV has been reported in Australia, China, India, Iran, Taiwan, Thailand and USA (Hawaii). In the EU, it has been reported once in Greece (Crete Island). The NPPO of Greece reported that CaCV is no longer present in Greece. CaCV infects plant species in the family Solanaceae (i.e. pepper, tomato) and several species of other families, including ornamentals. It may induce severe symptoms on its hosts, mainly on leaves and fruits, which may become unmarketable. The virus is transmitted in a persistent propagative mode by the thrips Ceratothripoides claratris, Frankliniella schultzei, Microcephalothrips abdominalis and Thrips palmi. C. claratris and T. palmi are EU quarantine pests. M. abdominalis is known to be present in several EU member states and it is not regulated in the EU. Plants for planting, parts of plants, fruits and cut flowers of CaCV hosts, and viruliferous thrips were identified as the most relevant pathways for the entry of CaCV into the EU. Cultivated and wild hosts of CaCV are distributed across the EU. Should the pest enter and establish in the EU territory, impact on the production of cultivated hosts is expected. Phytosanitary measures are available to prevent entry and spread of the virus in the EU. CaCV fulfils the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.

Persistent Southern Tomato Virus (STV) Interacts with Cucumber Mosaic and/or Pepino Mosaic Virus in Mixed- Infections Modifying Plant Symptoms, Viral Titer and Small RNA Accumulation

Southern tomato virus (STV) is a persistent virus that was, at the beginning, associated with some tomato fruit disorders. Subsequent studies showed that the virus did not induce apparent symptoms in single infections. Accordingly, the reported symptoms could be induced by the interaction of STV with other viruses, which frequently infect tomato. Here, we studied the effect of STV in co- and triple-infections with Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Pepino mosaic virus (PepMV). Our results showed complex interactions among these viruses. Co-infections leaded to a synergism between STV and CMV or PepMV: STV increased CMV titer and plant symptoms at early infection stages, whereas PepMV only exacerbated the plant symptoms. CMV and PepMV co-infection showed an antagonistic interaction with a strong decrease of CMV titer and a modification of the plant symptoms with respect to the single infections. However, the presence of STV in a triple-infection abolished this antagonism, restoring the CMV titer and plant symptoms. The siRNAs analysis showed a total of 78 miRNAs, with 47 corresponding to novel miRNAs in tomato, which were expressed differentially in the plants that were infected with these viruses with respect to the control mock-inoculated plants. These miRNAs were involved in the regulation of important functions and their number and expression level varied, depending on the virus combination. The number of vsiRNAs in STV single-infected tomato plants was very small, but STV vsiRNAs increased with the presence of CMV and PepMV. Additionally, the rates of CMV and PepMV vsiRNAs varied depending on the virus combination. The frequencies of vsiRNAs in the viral genomes were not uniform, but they were not influenced by other viruses.

Detection of Plant Viruses and Disease Management: Relevance of Genetic Diversity and Evolution

Plant viruses cause considerable economic losses and are a threat for sustainable agriculture. The frequent emergence of new viral diseases is mainly due to international trade, climate change, and the ability of viruses for rapid evolution. Disease control is based on two strategies: i) immunization (genetic resistance obtained by plant breeding, plant transformation, cross-protection, or others), and ii) prophylaxis to restrain virus dispersion (using quarantine, certification, removal of infected plants, control of natural vectors, or other procedures). Disease management relies strongly on a fast and accurate identification of the causal agent. For known viruses, diagnosis consists in assigning a virus infecting a plant sample to a group of viruses sharing common characteristics, which is usually referred to as species. However, the specificity of diagnosis can also reach higher taxonomic levels, as genus or family, or lower levels, as strain or variant. Diagnostic procedures must be optimized for accuracy by detecting the maximum number of members within the group (sensitivity as the true positive rate) and distinguishing them from outgroup viruses (specificity as the true negative rate). This requires information on the genetic relationships within-group and with members of other groups. The influence of the genetic diversity of virus populations in diagnosis and disease management is well documented, but information on how to integrate the genetic diversity in the detection methods is still scarce. Here we review the techniques used for plant virus diagnosis and disease control, including characteristics such as accuracy, detection level, multiplexing, quantification, portability, and designability. The effect of genetic diversity and evolution of plant viruses in the design and performance of some detection and disease control techniques are also discussed. High-throughput or next-generation sequencing provides broad-spectrum and accurate identification of viruses enabling multiplex detection, quantification, and the discovery of new viruses. Likely, this technique will be the future standard in diagnostics as its cost will be dropping and becoming more affordable.

Duplex RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of TSWV and CSVd in chrysanthemum

A novel duplex RT-PCR assay for simultaneous detection of TSWV and CSVd in chrysanthemums was developed. Previous reported primers for amplification of TSWV and CSVd were used and a novel pair of primers for CSVd was designed to improve duplex amplification compatibility. Sensitivity and efficiency of the previous reported and novel primers for CSVd were assessed. Then, the sensitivity of the combined primers to amplify both TSWV and CSVd cDNA were also evaluated. Both TSWV and CSVd were detected in preparations diluted up to 10^-4 and 10^-5 respectively, from total RNA extracts. This duplex RT-PCR method showed an estimated diagnostic sensitivity (DSe) of 97% and diagnostic specificity (DSp) of 99%. For combination of the primers TSWV L1/ L2 and CSVd UCO-1 F/ UCO-1R, the protocol could detect pathogen RNA from naturally infected plants until 0.1 ng and 1 ng respectively. This novel protocol for detection of TSWV/CSVd represents a useful diagnostic tool without the need of expensive probes and less extensive laboratory work. This method could be helpful to assist the selection and further propagation of healthy chrysanthemums on the field as well as to understand the dynamics and the interaction of this virus and viroid within farms.