Occurrence and molecular characterization of alfalfa mosaic virus in eggplant in Serbia

Abstract

In the 2018–19 growing season, a total of 51 leaves of eggplant plants grown under field conditions were collected randomly from nine private gardens at four different localities in the Province of Vojvodina. Eggplants with nearly 40% of plants showing bright yellow to white mosaic or mottling of leaves were found throughout the inspected fields (gardens). The collected samples were analyzed for the presence of alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and potato virus Y (PVY) using commercial double-antibody sandwich (DAS)-ELISA kits. Serological analysis of eggplant samples revealed the presence of AMV in 80.39% collected samples. None of the analyzed samples was positive for CMV and PVY. The virus was successfully mechanically transmitted to test plants including Nicotiana benthamiana, Chenopodium quinoa, C. amaranticolor, as well as eggplant seedlings, confirming the infectious nature of the disease. The presence of AMV in eggplants was further verified by reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequencing, using the primers CP AMV1 and CP AMV2 that amplify part of the coat protein (CP) gene. The phylogenetic analysis showed that Serbian AMV isolates grouped into a separate well-supported group together with AMV isolates from Italy, Croatia and previously characterized isolates from Serbia. To our knowledge, this is the first report of AMV infection of eggplant in Serbia.

Tokom 2018. i 2019. godine, prikupljen je 51 uzorak biljaka plavog patlidžana iz devet useva sa četiri različita lokaliteta gajenja ove biljne vrste u Vojvodini. Tokom pregleda, na blizu 40% biljaka plavog patlidžana mogli su se uočiti simptomi u vidu žućkastobeličastih pega raspoređenih po čitavoj površini liske. Prikupljeni uzorci analizirani su na prisustvo virusa mozaika lucerke (alfalfa mosaic virus, AMV), virusa mozaika krastavca (cucumber mosaic virus, CMV) i Y virusa krompira (potato virus Y, PVY) korišćenjem komercijalno dostupnih kitova za DAS-ELISA test. Serološkim analizama utvrđeno je prisustvo AMV u 80,39% prikupljenih uzoraka. Prisustvo CMV i PVY nije dokazano ni u jednom od testiranih uzoraka. Virus je uspešno prenet mehaničkim inokulacijama test biljaka Nicotiana benthamiana, Chenopodium quinoa, C. amaranticolor, kao i na klijance plavog patlidžana, čime je potvrđena infe ktivna priroda oboljenja. Prisustvo AMV u biljkama plavog patlidžana je dalje potvrđeno primenom RT-PCR metode (reverzna transkripcija praćena lančanom reakcijom polimeraze) i sekvencioniranjem odabranih izolata korišćenjem specifičnih prajmera CP AMV1 i CP AMV2, koji omogućavaju umnožavanje gena za protein omotača. Filogenetska analiza pokazala je grupisanje srpskih AMV izolata u jasno odvojenu grupu zajedno sa AMV izolatima iz Italije, Hrvatske i prethodno okarakterisanim izolatima iz Srbije. Prema našim saznanjima, ovo je prvi izveštaj o prisustvu virusa mozaika lucerke na plavom patlidžanu u Srbiji.