Begomoviruses Infecting Tomato Crops in Panama |
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| Authors: | José Angel Herrera‐Vásquez Deibis Ortega Ana Belkis Romero Salvatore Davino Luis Carlos Mejía Stefano Panno Mario Davino |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Laboratorio de Protección Vegetal (LPV), Centro de Investigación Agropecuaria Central (CIAC), Instituto de Investigación Agropecuaria de Panamá (IDIAP), Santa María, Herrera, Panama;2. Escuela de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Exactas y Tecnología, Ciudad Universitaria Dr. Octavio Méndez Pereira, Estafeta Universitaria, Universidad de Panamá (UP), Panama 4, Panama;3. Department of Agricultural and Forestry Science, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy;4. Euro‐Mediterranean Institute of Science and Technology, Palermo, Italy;5. Centro de Biología Molecular y Celular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (INDICASAT AIP), Panama 5, Panama;6. Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), Balboa, Panama, Panama;7. Dipartimento DISPA, University of Catania, Catania, Italy |
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| Abstract: | The key regions in Panama involved in open field‐ and greenhouse‐grown commercial tomato production, including the Chiriquí, Veraguas, Herrera, Los Santos, Coclé and Panama Oeste provinces, were surveyed for the incidence and distribution of begomoviruses in the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012. The surveys took place in 14 of the 51 districts of the above‐mentioned provinces and comprised all relevant tomato production areas of the provinces. A total of 28 tomato plots were surveyed. The exact location of each plot was geo‐referenced using a hand‐held Global Positioning System unit. In total, 319 individual tomato plants (181 in 2011 and 138 in 2012) were sampled. Plants displayed diverse combinations of virus‐like symptoms of different severity, including necrosis, yellowing, mosaic, mottling, rolling, curling, distortion and puckering of leaves, reduced leaf size, and stunted growth. DNA was extracted from each plant for a subsequent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis, using two sets of degenerate primers able to detect members of the genus Begomovirus. The samples displaying a positive reaction were subsequently analysed with specific primer pairs to identify the affecting begomoviruses. A total of 42.3% of all collected samples showed a positive signal to PCRs. Three begomovirus species were detected with the species‐specific set of primers; in particular, in the samples obtained in 2011, Potato yellow mosaic Panama virus (PYMPV), Tomato leaf curl Sinaloa virus (ToLCSiV) and Tomato yellow mottle virus (TYMoV) were detected, while in the 2012 samples, only PYMPV and ToLCSiV were found. To our knowledge, this is the first reported incidence of ToLCSiV and TYMoV in Panamanian tomato crops. |
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| Keywords: | polymerase chain reaction
Potato yellow mosaic Panama virus
Solanum lycopersicum
Tomato leaf curl Sinaloa virus
Tomato yellow mottle virus
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