Empoasca papayae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)-Mediated Transmission of Papaya Meleira Virus-Mexican Variant in Mexico

• Published in: Plant disease Vol. 103; no. 8; p. 2015
• Main Authors: García-Cámara, Isabel, Tapia-Tussell, Raúl, Magaña-Álvarez, Anuar, Cortés Velázquez, Alberto, Martín-Mex, Rodolfo, Moreno-Valenzuela, Oscar, Pérez-Brito, Daisy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2019
• Subjects: papaya meleira virus; insect vector; viruses; RT-qPCR
• ISSN: 0191-2917
• DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-06-18-1101-RE

Papaya meleira virus (PMeV) causes sticky disease in in Brazil and Mexico. Despite its economic importance and the need for effective phytosanitary control, it remains unknown whether any insect is the vector of this virus. The aim of this work was to identify potential insect vectors of the PMeV-Mexican variant (PMeV-Mx) and determine whether these potential vectors are capable of transmitting the virus. Adult insects were collected in papaya fields in the south-southeast region of Mexico and were identified morphologically and molecularly. Their abundance and frequency were determined, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed to establish if they carried PMeV-Mx. The Cicadellidae family (Hemiptera) was the most diverse and abundant, and was the most abundant species and had the highest virus titers. PMeV-Mx transmission assays were conducted under controlled conditions using on 'Maradol'. was a carrier of PMeV-Mx at 6 h after exposure, and its viral titer increased with time, peaking at 2.125 pg/μl of PMeV-Mx RNA from 20 ng/µl of cDNA, 5 days after exposure (dae). From 14 days after plants were exposed to insects, PMeV-Mx was detected and quantified in 100% of the evaluated papaya plants, whose viral RNA titer increased from 0.06 (21 dae) to 26.6 pg/μl of PMeV-Mx RNA (60 dae) from 20 ng/µl of cDNA. Three months later, these plants developed sticky disease symptoms, demonstrating that is capable of transmitting PMeV-Mx to 'Maradol'.