Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #383489
Research Project: Systematics of Acari and Hemiptera: Plant Pests, Predators, and Disease Vectors

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: First report of the Brevipalpus-transmitted (Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) virus, Orchid fleck virus (Mononegavirales: Rhabdoviridae) infecting three ornamentals in Florida

Author
item FIFE, AUSTIN - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item CARRILLO, DANIEL - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item KNOX, GARY - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item FANNY, IRIARTE - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item KISHORE, DEY - FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
item ROY, AVIJIT - U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron
item BAUCHAN, GARY - RETIRED ARS EMPLOYEE
item PARET, MATTHEW - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item XAVIER, MARTINI - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Submitted to: Integrated Pest Management
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/12/2021
Publication Date: 11/20/2021
Citation: Fife, A., Carrillo, D., Knox, G., Fanny, I., Kishore, D., Roy, A., Ochoa, R., Bauchan, G.R., Paret, M., Xavier, M. 2021. First report of the Brevipalpus-transmitted (Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) virus, Orchid fleck virus (Mononegavirales: Rhabdoviridae) infecting three ornamentals in Florida. Integrated Pest Management. 12(1):43;1-6. https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmab035.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jipm/pmab035

Interpretive Summary: Many flat mites are important agricultural pests on crops, ornamentals and fruit trees. Their damage cost many millions of dollars annually world wide. This article reports the finding of two flat mite species and the Orchid fleck virus affecting several important ornamental plants in Florida. The virus is important for their association with orchids and citrus plants. A specific group of flat mite species are capable of transmitting the Orchid fleck virus. This study will be important to plant protection officers, extension workers, agriculture scientists, entomologists and ornamental plant growers

Technical Abstract: Flat mites from the genus Brevipalpus Donnadieu (Trombidiformes: Tenuipalpidae) are the only known vectors of dichorhaviruses and transmit Orchid fleck dichorhavirus (OFV) in a persistent propagative manner . OFV is the type species for the genus Dichorhavirus and infects 50+ spp. of Orchidaceae, Asparagaceae (Nolinoidaea), and Rutaceae (Citrus). During June 2020, chlorotic ringspot symptoms on Giant Lilyturf (Liriope spp., cv. ‘Gigantea’) were observed in a landscape in Leon County, Florida. Later in the year, the presence of Orchid fleck dichorhavirus was confirmed by via generic one step conventional RT-PCR and Sanger sequencing. Amplicons had a 98% identity with OFV strains which infect orchids. The identification was also confirmed with RT-qPCR and High Throughput Sequencing (HTS). Additional samples were taken from other Liriope spp., Ophiopogon spp., and Aspidistra elatior Blume ( Asparagaceae: Nolinoidaea) in Leon and Alachua counties also tested positive for OFV s. Three mite species were recovered from OFV-infected plants: Brevipalpus californicus sensu lato, B. obovatus Donnadieu and B. confusus Banks. One of these species is presumably responsible for OFV transmission. Florida has various mite species of Brevipalpus and a diverse array of susceptible plant species in the landscape, both native and introduced. We suggest that OFV already has a wide distribution in Florida which will continue to spread if unchecked, representing a potential threat for Liriope spp., Ophiopogon spp. and Aspidistra elatior which are commonly used in landscaping in Florida.