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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Washington, D.C. » National Arboretum » Floral and Nursery Plants Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413179
Research Project: Detection, Biology, and Genomics of New and Emerging Viral and Bacterial Diseases of Ornamental Plants

Location: Floral and Nursery Plants Research

Title: First report of lettuce big-vein virus and Mirafiori lettuce big-vein virus infecting chicory in South Korea

Author
item CHO, IN-SOOK - National Institute Of Horticultural & Herbal Science (NIHHS)
item CHOI, SU RYUN - National Institute Of Horticultural & Herbal Science (NIHHS)
item LEE, Y.H. - Korea National University Of Agriculture And Fisheries
item Hammond, John
item LIM, HYOUN-SUB - Chungnam National University

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/29/2024
Publication Date: 7/18/2024
Citation: Cho, I., Choi, S., Lee, Y., Hammond, J., Lim, H. 2024. First report of lettuce big-vein virus and Mirafiori lettuce big-vein virus infecting chicory in South Korea. Journal of Plant Pathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-024-01694-0.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-024-01694-0

Interpretive Summary: Viral diseases cause significant losses of yield and quality in many agricultural and horticultural crops, and identification of the causal agent of the disease is necessary to determine appropriate control measures. A new disease causing foliar necrotic spots and dieback of greenhouse-grown chicory was observed in Korea in 2023. High-throughput sequencing and subsequent polymerase chain reaction assays were utilized to identify two plant viruses not previously reported in Korea. As both viruses are known to be transmitted by a soilborne chytrid fungus, and also to cause a serious disease in lettuce, methods for chemical or cultural control of the fungal vector will be important to protect production of both lettuce and chicory. This information will benefit plant diagnosticians, extension agents, and the producers of both crop types to minimize yield losses due to these viruses.

Technical Abstract: In April 2023, necrotic spots and leaf dieback were observed on 10% of greenhouse-grown chicory (Cichorium endivia) plants in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Total RNA was extracted from each of three symptomatic plants and one sample analyzed by high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Removal of rRNA and cDNA library preparation and sequencing yielded 77,967,606 reads, assembled using Trinity (r20140717). 90,783 resulting contigs were screened against the NCBI viral genome database, revealing contigs of 6,787 and 6,073 bp (GenBank LC771580; and LC771581) with 96.14% and 96.62% nt identities with RNAs 1 and 2 (NC_011558 and NC_011568) of lettuce big-vein associated virus (LBVaV). Another contig of 7,811 bp (LC798334) had 92.65% nt identity with Mirafiori lettuce big-vein virus (MiLBVV, AF525933) isolate LS301-O. To confirm presence of LBVaV and MiLBVV in the three initial samples, RT-PCR was performed using virus-specific primers LBVaV-F/R (5’-GATCCCGTGGCTGTCAGAATA-3’/5’-CTAAGATGGCAACGGTATCTGC-3’) and MiLBVV-F/R (5’-AAGAGTCCTTGGTACATGCCTT-3’/5’-GTATGGGAGCATTGTACGAGACT-3’), designed from the contig sequences. Expected amplicons of 697 bp (LBVaV) and 540 bp (MiLBVV), were obtained from each plant. Three independent clones of each amplicon from the HTS sample were bidirectionally sequenced. The 697 bp amplicon (LC798335) showed 99.57% nt identity to LBVaV contig LC771581, while the 540 bp amplicon (LC798336) showed 99.63% nt identity to MiLBVV contig LC798334. Both LBVaV (Varicosavirus) and MiLBVV (Ophiovirus), vectored by Olpidium virulentus, are associated with lettuce big-vein disease (LBVD), and in chicory in Brazil. This is the first report of LBVaV and MiLBVV infecting chicory in South Korea. As the symptoms in chicory differ from those of LBVD, further research is needed to address host differences.