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Exploring the virome of Vasconcellea x heilbornii: the first step towards a sustainable production program for babaco in Ecuador

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Abstract

The virome of babaco (Vasconcellea x heilbornii) —a non-traditional fruit crop native to Ecuador— was investigated by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) on plants obtained from a commercial nursery. Six virus-like sequences were detected, including the full length of papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) and an RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase (RdRp) sequence with homology to papaya virus Q. Three RNA sequences were found with homology, respectively, to apple latent spherical virus (genus Cheravirus, 71% nt identity), cherry leaf roll virus (genus Nepovirus, 54% nt identity) and Citrullus lanatus cryptic virus (genus Deltapartitivirus, 66% nt identity); whereas a DNA pararetrovirus-like sequence with homology to citrus endogenous pararetrovirus (58% nt identity) was also detected. RT-PCR-based virus surveys on a total of 284 samples collected from three provinces revealed that the partitivirus- and pararetrovirus-like sequences were present in 100% of tested plants; whereas the other virus sequences were detected in up to 68% of plants and were associated with different symptoms. This work provides information on the occurrence and prevalence of PRSV and five additional virus-like sequences in babaco, a vegetatively propagated crop, supporting the need for a virus-free certification program.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Ricardo Oliva for funding HTS; the Ecuadorean University Network (REDU), through ESPOL, for additional funding; babaco growers in the selected areas for granting access to their orchards or nurseries; and Dr. Gary Kinard for critical review of the manuscript. This work was conducted under Genetic Resource Access Permit # MAE–DNB–CM–2018–0098 granted by the Department of Biodiversity of the Ecuadorean Ministry of the Environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas del Ecuador, CIBE, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador

    Juan F. Cornejo-Franco & Diego F. Quito-Avila

  2. Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, ESPOL, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador

    Andrés Medina-Salguero & Diego F. Quito-Avila

  3. Centro de Investigación de Alimentos, CIAL, Facultad de Ciencias de la Ingeniería e Industrias, Universidad –UTE, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador

    Francisco Flores

  4. Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida y la Agricultura, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE, Sangolquí, Pichincha, Ecuador

    Francisco Flores

  5. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador

    Eduardo Chica

  6. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA

    Samuel Grinstead & Dimitre Mollov

Authors
  1. Juan F. Cornejo-Franco
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  2. Andrés Medina-Salguero
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  3. Francisco Flores
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  4. Eduardo Chica
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  5. Samuel Grinstead
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  6. Dimitre Mollov
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  7. Diego F. Quito-Avila
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego F. Quito-Avila.

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Cornejo-Franco, J.F., Medina-Salguero, A., Flores, F. et al. Exploring the virome of Vasconcellea x heilbornii: the first step towards a sustainable production program for babaco in Ecuador. Eur J Plant Pathol 157, 961–968 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-020-02037-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10658-020-02037-2

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