Flue-cured tobacco confirmed as a reservoir host plant for Tomato yellow leaf curl virus by agro-inoculation and Bemisia tabaci MED-mediated transmission

PLoS One. 2017 Dec 22;12(12):e0190013. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190013. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) causes great losses in tomato production. In addition to tomato, TYLCV infects many crops or weeds as alternative hosts. These alternative hosts may serve as reservoirs for TYLCV survival and spread. Here, we tested the capability of cultivated, flue-cured tobacco to act as a reservoir host plant for TYLCV. TYLCV DNA was detected in nine flue-cured tobacco cultivars inoculated with an infectious TYLCV clone, although no visible symptoms developed on TYLCV-infected tobacco plants. The percentage of whiteflies with viral DNA increased with an increasing acquisition access period (AAP) and reached 100% after a 12 h AAP on infected tobacco plants. Using infected tobacco plants as virus resources, TYLCV was capable of being transmitted to tobacco and tomato plants by whiteflies, and typical symptoms of TYLCV infection were observed on infected tomato plants but not on infected tobacco plants. Our results suggest that flue-cured tobacco can serve as a reservoir host plant for TYLCV and may play an important role in the spread of TYLCV epidemics in China.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Begomovirus / genetics
  • Begomovirus / physiology*
  • China
  • DNA, Viral / analysis
  • Disease Reservoirs*
  • Hemiptera / virology*
  • Nicotiana / virology*
  • Plant Diseases*

Substances

  • DNA, Viral

Supplementary concepts

  • Tomato yellow leaf curl virus

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 31401810). The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.