Asymptomatic Populus alba: a tree serving as a reservoir of begomoviruses and associated satellites

Authors: MUSTAFA, ROMA - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE); HAMZA, MUHAMMAD - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE); UR REHMAN, ATIQ - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE); KAMAL, HIRA - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE); NOUMAN TAHIR, MUHAMMAD - Bahauddin Zakariya University; MANSOOR, SHAHID - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE); Scheffler, Brian; BRIDDON, ROB - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE); AMIN, IMRAN - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE)

Submitted to: Virus Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/28/2022
Publication Date: 9/17/2022
Citation: Mustafa, R., Hamza, M., Ur Rehman, A., Kamal, H., Nouman Tahir, M., Mansoor, S., Scheffler, B.E., Briddon, R.W., Amin, I. 2022. Asymptomatic Populus alba: a tree serving as a reservoir of begomoviruses and associated satellites. Virus Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-022-00886-5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13313-022-00886-5

Interpretive Summary: Begomoviruses are widely found in the environment and some are serious threats to agriculture production. A serious issue with begomoviruses is recombination (exchange of genetic material) can occur between different types begomoviruses which can cause them to infect new species or result in more severe disease symptoms. Control of begomoviruses is difficult because they are transmitted by vectors and can be residing in plants besides the crop of interest. In this research, widely grown Silver Poplar (Populus alba) trees, in different parts of Pakistan, were tested for the presence of begomoviruses. Different begomoviruses (with corresponding alpha and beta satellites) were detected which indicate Silver Poplar can act as a reservoir of begomoviruses and possibly begomoviruses recombination from season to season.

Technical Abstract: Populus alba is a widespread tree species. An analysis of five mature P. alba, two from Quetta (Balochistan province) and three from Faisalabad (Punjab province) Pakistan, showed all to be infected by the monopartite begomovirus tomato leaf curl Kerala virus (ToLCuKeV) and the alphasatellite Ageratum enation alphasatellite. Additionally, one P. alba was found to be infected with another monopartite begomovirus, papaya leaf curl virus (PaLCuV), two with cotton leaf curl Multan alphasatellite and three with cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite. Analysis of the sequences of full-length clones of each component showed them to be normal and closely related to isolates identified in hosts other than P. alba, with the exception of the PaLCuV isolate which proved to be a new strain of the virus. A Southern blot analysis showed replication of ToLCuKeV in P. alba ruling out the findings being due to contamination. This is the first report of the infection of mature P. alba trees by begomoviruses in association with satellites. The significance of these findings are discussed.