Distribution and genetic diversity of Coguvirus eburi in South African citrus and the development of a real-time RT-PCR assay for citrus-infecting coguviruses

Citrus virus A (CiVA), a novel negative-sense single-stranded RNA virus assigned to the species Coguvirus eburi in the genus Coguvirus, was detected in South Africa with the use of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) after its initial discovery in Italy. CiVA is closely related to citrus concave gum-associated virus (CCGaV), recently assigned to the species Citrus coguvirus. Disease association with CiVA is however incomplete. CiVA was detected in grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.), sweet orange (C. sinensis (L.) Osb.) and clementine (C. reticulata Blanco) in South Africa and a survey to determine the distribution, symptom association and genetic diversity was conducted in three provinces and seven citrus production regions. The virus was detected in ‘Delta’ Valencia trees in six citrus production regions and a fruit rind symptom was often observed on CiVA-positive trees. Additionally, grapefruit showing symptoms of citrus impietratura disease were positive for CiVA. This virus was primarily detected in older orchards that were established prior to the application of shoot tip grafting for virus elimination in the South African Citrus Improvement Scheme. The three viral encoded genes of CiVA isolates from each cultivar and region were sequenced to investigate sequence diversity. Genetic differences were detected between the ‘Delta’ Valencia, grapefruit and clementine samples, with greater sequence variation observed with the nucleocapsid protein (NP) compared to the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) and the movement protein (MP). A real-time detection assay, targeting the RdRp, was developed to simultaneously detect citrus infecting coguviruses, CiVA and CCGaV, using a dual priming reverse primer to improve PCR specificity.

Knotted memories of a betrayed sacrifice: Rethinking trauma and hope in South Africa

Different groups within South African society express disillusionment with the present through a discourse of betrayal in relation to the liberation movement-cum-governing-party of the African National Congress. This article focuses on a particular articulation of this discourse within two memory communities in the Western Cape (Bonteheuwel and Crossroads) who were embroiled in violence and political struggle during apartheid and continue to suffer conditions of structural violence in the post-apartheid era. It analyses the shared memory narrative of a ‘betrayed sacrifice’ to demonstrate a proposed theoretical concept of ‘knotted memories’ which describes the way in which past and present memories of suffering knot together to produce a lived affective condition of despair. It further considers what these everyday experiences of ‘knotted memories’ mean for re-thinking the nature of trauma and hope in relation to post-apartheid despair.

A review on discourse studies concerning migrants in media publications from Brazil and South Africa: towards more Afro-Latin perspectives

This paper reviews scientific literature about representation on migrants in Global South media and in other parts of the world, focusing on comparative studies in Brazil and South Africa, and providing suggestions for less Eurocentric perspectives relating to such topic. We resort to a critical review on theoretical references and multiple studies published between the second half of the last century and the beginning of this century. South African comparative research through meta-studies and their quantitative tendency —alongside French Discourse Analysis, Bakhtinian Circle and Greimas’ influence in Brazil— indicate how this type of research needs to be expanded in the Global South. This paper recommends the construction of more systematic content-based analyses and the exploration of the different degrees and forms through which balanced or patronizing portrayals on migrants are projected in media. Dislocation from a dominant sociocognitive perspective towards inter-semiotic/sociolinguistic approaches is advisable. This work also suggests that Pan-Africanism, African approaches, and/or Latin-American philosophies should be part of this foundation for migration criticism, especially if these migratory processes are analyzed in media or communication context