Valeriana jatamansi as a new natural host of Bhendi yellow vein mosaic virus and Papaya leaf curl virus betasatellite from Northern India

Abstract

During a survey in June 2014, V. jatamansi, growing in a herbal garden in the CSIR-IHBT campus, Palampur (Himachal Pradesh, India), was displaying crinkling of leaves and whitefly infestation. Both of these features suggested begomoviral infection and attempts were made to detect the virus. Based on the results of DNA sequence analysis, two causal agents were identified, namely Bhendi yellow vein mosaic virus (BYVMV) and Papaya leaf curl virus betasatellite. To assess the level and prevalence of virus infection on V. jatamansi, 80 samples from two locations (40 each) were collected. These samples were collected from plants randomly exhibiting mild or severe crinkling or no symptoms. Total DNA was extracted from the samples and tested for the presence of BYVMV by Southern blot hybridization. Results revealed that 32 of the 80 samples (40%) tested positive for the virus. This is thought to be the first report of begomovirus associated DNA-A and betasatellite infection of V. jatamansi. Apart from Abelmoschus esculentus, BYVMV has been found at sites distant from those described here in the deciduous shrub Litsea spp. As V. jatamansi is present as a natural population, the presence of begomovirus and betasatellite DNA suggests that V. jatamansi may act as a reservoir for the virus with the potential to cause devastating diseases on vegetables.