scholarly journals First Report of the Presence of East African Cassava Mosaic Virus in Cameroon

Plant Disease ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 82 (10) ◽  
pp. 1172-1172 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Fondong ◽  
J. S. Pita ◽  
C. Rey ◽  
R. N. Beachy ◽  
C. M. Fauquet

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) occurs in all cassava-growing regions of Africa, India, and Sri Lanka. Characterized by mosaic and distortion of cassava leaves and reduced plant growth, causing high yield losses, CMD is caused by geminiviruses (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) transmitted through infected cuttings or by the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. Three such geminiviruses have been described: African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) occurs in most of the cassava-producing zones of Africa; East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) in East Africa; and Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV) in the Indian subcontinent (1). The two components of ACMV and ICMV genomes, DNA-A and DNA-B, have been sequenced; only DNA-A of EACMV has been identified and sequenced. Variations in symptom expression and severity within the same cassava variety have been observed in Cameroon. To determine the nature of the virus species inducing such variations, 50 samples were collected from CMD-infected plants in the savannah and rainforest zones of Cameroon: 2 from the sahel/savannah plain, 13 from the western highland savannah, and 35 from the main cassava-producing belt of the southwestern rainforest. There is a high incidence of CMD in the rainforest region, with some farms completely infected, while in the savannah regions farms generally have less than 25% incidence. Variation in symptom expression was more common in the rainforest region. Samples were collected from plants with distinct symptoms and/or different extents of symptom severity, then analyzed with the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers: JSP1, ATG TCG AAG CGA CCA GGA GAT; JSP2, TGT TTA TTA ATT GCC AAT ACT; and JSP3, CCT TTA TTA ATT TGT CAC TGC. Primer JSP1 anneals to the 5′ end of the coat protein (CP) of ACMV and EACMV; primers JSP2 and JSP3 anneal to the 3′ ends of ACMV and EACMV, respectively. Virus identification was based on presence of an amplified fragment of either virus. ACMV was detected in all 50 samples; EACMV was detected in 8. All samples infected with EACMV were from the southwestern rainforest of Cameroon and were more severely affected by the disease than single infected plants. Previous reports have limited occurrence of EACMV to East Africa (1). This is the first report of the occurrence of EACMV in West Africa. The CP gene of three isolates of EACMV from Cameroon (EACMV/CM) was sequenced from cloned PCR products. There was a high CP nucleotide sequence identity (>99%) with only two amino acid differences among all three EACMV isolates. In contrast, there was a rather low sequence identity (94%) with EACMV/TZ from Tanzania (2), suggesting they may belong to a previously undescribed West African strain of EACMV. This indicates the geminiviruses causing CMD in Africa are more widely distributed than previously reported. None of the Cameroon isolates showed the type of recombination of the EACMV isolate from Uganda (EACMV/ UG) (having the CP core segment the identical to the corresponding ACMV CP sequence) (2). This emphasizes the need for characterization of the viruses causing CMD in different cassava-growing regions of Africa since appropriate control strategies depend on adequate knowledge of disease etiology. References: (1) Y. G. Hong et al. J. Gen. Virol. 74:2437, 1993. (2) X. Zhou et al. J. Gen. Virol. 78:2101, 1997.

Plant Disease ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 229-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. O. Ogbe ◽  
G. Thottappilly ◽  
A. G. O. Dixon ◽  
G. I. Atiri ◽  
H. D. Mignouna

In a survey for cassava mosaic begomoviruses conducted in 1997 and 1998 in Nigeria, East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) was detected by the polymerase chain reaction together with African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) in 27 out of 290 cassava leaf samples of infected plants from 254 farmers' fields in five agroecological zones. One plant was infected with EACMV only. Five variant isolates of EACMV were observed based on their reactions to primers that could detect Cameroonian and East African strains of EACMV. Isolates of variants 1 and 3 occurred mostly in the derived or coastal and southern Guinea savannahs, while variants 4 and 5 predominated in the humid forest region. Isolates of variant 2 were widely distributed across the three agroecologies. EACMV was not detected in the northern Guinea savannah and arid and semiarid zones. Most doubly infected plants showed more severe symptoms than plants with single infection. Occurrence of EACMV variants together with ACMV detection and information about their distribution in Nigeria could be used for the selection of cassava clones in cassava mosaic disease resistance programs.


2001 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Pita ◽  
V. N. Fondong ◽  
A. Sangaré ◽  
G. W. Otim-Nape ◽  
S. Ogwal ◽  
...  

The molecular variability of cassava geminiviruses occurring in Uganda was investigated in this study. Infected cassava plants and whiteflies were collected from cassava plantings in different geographical areas of the country and PCR was used for molecular characterization of the viruses. Two complete sequences of DNA-A and -B from African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV), two DNA-A sequences from East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), two DNA-B sequences of EACMV and the partial DNA-A nucleotide sequence of a new virus strain isolated in Uganda, EACMV-UG3, are reported here. Analysis of naturally infected cassava plants showed various assortments of DNA-A and DNA-B of the Ugandan viruses, suggesting the occurrence of natural inter- and intraspecies pseudorecombinations and a pattern of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) more complex than previously reported. EACMV-UG2 DNA-A, which contains a recombinant fragment between ACMV and EACMV-UG1 in the coat protein gene that resembles virus from Tanzania, was widespread in the country and always associated with EACMV-UG3 DNA-B, which probably resulted from another natural recombination event. Mixed infections of ACMV-UG and EACMV-UG in cassava and whiteflies were detected in most of the regions where both viruses occurred. These mixed-infected samples always showed extremely severe CMD symptoms, suggesting a synergistic interaction between ACMV-UG and EACMV-UG2. The first demonstration is provided of infectivity of EACMV clones to cassava, proving conclusively that the pseudorecombinant EACMV-UG2 DNA-A+EACMV-UG3 DNA-B is a causal agent of CMD in Uganda.


Plant Disease ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 1379-1387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabson M. Mulenga ◽  
James P. Legg ◽  
Joseph Ndunguru ◽  
Douglas W. Miano ◽  
Eunice W. Mutitu ◽  
...  

A survey was conducted from April to May 2014 in 214 farmers’ fields located across six major cassava-producing provinces (Western, Northwestern, Northern, Luapula, Lusaka, and Eastern) of Zambia to determine the status of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and the species diversity of associated cassava mosaic geminiviruses (CMG). Mean CMD incidence varied across all six provinces but was greatest in Lusaka Province (81%) and least in Northern Province (44%). Mean CMD severity varied slightly between provinces, ranging from 2.78 in Eastern Province to 3.00 in Northwestern Province. Polymerase chain reaction discrimination of 226 survey samples, coupled with complete DNA-A genome sequence analysis, revealed the presence of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV), East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV), and East African cassava mosaic Malawi virus (EACMMV) as single or mixed infections of different proportions. Single-virus infections were predominant, occurring in 62.8% (ACMV), 5.8% (EACMMV), and 2.2% (EACMV) of samples relative to mixed-virus infections, which occurred in 19.5% (ACMV + EACMMV), 0.4% (ACMV + EACMV), and 0.9% (ACMV + EACMV + EACMMV) of samples. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the segregation of virus isolates from Zambia into clades specific to ACMV, EACMV, and EACMMV, further confirming the presence of all three viruses in Zambia. The results point to a greater diversity of CMG across major cassava-growing provinces of Zambia and implicate contaminated cassava cuttings in disease spread.


2016 ◽  
Vol 90 (8) ◽  
pp. 4160-4173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Ndunguru ◽  
Leandro De León ◽  
Catherine D. Doyle ◽  
Peter Sseruwagi ◽  
German Plata ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTCassava mosaic begomoviruses (CMBs) cause cassava mosaic disease (CMD) across Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Like all members of the geminivirus family, CMBs have small, circular single-stranded DNA genomes. We report here the discovery of two novel DNA sequences, designated SEGS-1 and SEGS-2 (forsequencesenhancinggeminivirussymptoms), that enhance symptoms and break resistance to CMD. The SEGS are characterized by GC-rich regions and the absence of long open reading frames. Both SEGS enhanced CMD symptoms in cassava (Manihot esculentaCrantz) when coinoculated withAfrican cassava mosaic virus(ACMV),East African cassava mosaic Cameroon virus(EACMCV), orEast African cassava mosaic virus-Uganda(EACMV-UG). SEGS-1 also overcame resistance of a cassava landrace carrying the CMD2 resistance locus when coinoculated with EACMV-UG. Episomal forms of both SEGS were detected in CMB-infected cassava but not in healthy cassava. SEGS-2 episomes were also found in virions and whiteflies. SEGS-1 has no homology to geminiviruses or their associated satellites, but the cassava genome contains a sequence that is 99% identical to full-length SEGS-1. The cassava genome also includes three sequences with 84 to 89% identity to SEGS-2 that together encompass all of SEGS-2 except for a 52-bp region, which includes the episomal junction and a 26-bp sequence related to alphasatellite replication origins. These results suggest that SEGS-1 is derived from the cassava genome and facilitates CMB infection as an integrated copy and/or an episome, while SEGS-2 was originally from the cassava genome but now is encapsidated into virions and transmitted as an episome by whiteflies.IMPORTANCECassava is a major crop in the developing world, with its production in Africa being second only to maize. CMD is one of the most important diseases of cassava and a serious constraint to production across Africa. CMD2 is a major CMD resistance locus that has been deployed in many cassava cultivars through large-scale breeding programs. In recent years, severe, atypical CMD symptoms have been observed occasionally on resistant cultivars, some of which carry the CMD2 locus, in African fields. In this report, we identified and characterized two DNA sequences, SEGS-1 and SEGS-2, which produce similar symptoms when coinoculated with cassava mosaic begomoviruses onto a susceptible cultivar or a CMD2-resistant landrace. The ability of SEGS-1 to overcome CMD2 resistance and the transmission of SEGS-2 by whiteflies has major implications for the long-term durability of CMD2 resistance and underscore the need for alternative sources of resistance in cassava.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olufemi Joseph Alabi ◽  
Rabson Mulenga

Abstract Like other CMGs, cassava is the primary host of East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) and related viruses, although the virus has been detected in other plant species (Ogbe et al., 2006; Alabi et al. 2015). Analysis of the genomes of different isolates of EACMV-type viruses show considerable genetic variability and genome plasticity relative to ACMV isolates. The primary means of virus spread is via movement of contaminated vegetative cassava cuttings and secondary spread occurs via the whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci. Perhaps the most notable documentation of invasiveness of EACMV-type viruses is the regional pandemic of a severe CMD in East Africa caused by EACMV-UG which began in Uganda in the early to mid-1990s (Gibson et al., 1996; Otim-Nape et al., 1997) on popular and widely cultivated cassava varieties and soon spread to other countries in East Africa, including Kenya and Tanzania (Otim-Nape et al., 1997; Legg, 1999). The pandemic resulted in famine-related deaths (Otim-Nape et al., 1998) due to complete devastation of affected cassava farms in the region. EACMV is not on the IUCN or ISSG alert list.


Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 164
Author(s):  
M. Kyallo ◽  
E. M. Ateka ◽  
J. Ndunguru ◽  
M. O. Ssemakula ◽  
R. A. Skilton ◽  
...  

Microbiology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 287-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Fondong ◽  
J. S. Pita ◽  
M. E. C. Rey ◽  
A. de Kochko ◽  
R. N. Beachy ◽  
...  

Stem cuttings were collected in Cameroon from cassava plants displaying cassava mosaic disease (CMD) symptoms. The nature of the viruses present was determined by using the PCR with primers specific for the coat protein (CP) genes of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV). All samples were infected by ACMV and eight of the 50 samples were infected by both ACMV and an EACMV-like virus. The complete nucleotide sequences of DNA-A and -B of representative ACMV and EACMV-like viruses were determined. The DNA-A component of the EACMV-like virus contained evidence of recombination in the AC2–AC3 region and DNA-B also contained evidence of recombination in BC1. However, both components retained gene arrangements typical of bipartite begomoviruses. When Nicotiana benthamiana plants were doubly inoculated with these Cameroon isolates of ACMV and EACMV (ACMV/CM, EACMV/CM) by using sap from cassava plants or infectious clones, the symptoms were more severe than for plants inoculated with either virus alone. Southern blot analysis of viral DNAs from infected plants showed that there were significantly higher levels of accumulation of both ACMV/CM components and, to a lesser extent, of EACMV/CM components in mixed-infected plants than in singly infected plants. These results strongly suggest the occurrence of a synergistic interaction between the two viruses.


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