PRO/PL> Beet pseudoyellows virus, melon - Italy: first report

BEET PSEUDOYELLOWS VIRUS, MELON - ITALY: FIRST REPORT
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Date: 3 Sep 2003
From: ProMED-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Source: Journal Plant Pathology 2003; 85(1), March [edited]


Yellowing disease of melon in Sardinia (Italy) caused by beet pseudoyellows 
virus
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L Tomassoli <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, 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.

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ProMED-mail
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[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]

[see also:
2001
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Beet pseudoyellows virus, cucumber - New Zealand 20011116.2823]

....................dh/pg/sh

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