ISSN 2756-3413
African Journal of Virology Research ISSN 3421-7347 Vol. 13 (9), pp. 001-003, September, 2019. © International Scholars Journals
Short Communication
Biolistic inoculation of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) with South African cassava mosaic virus
M. Makwarela1,2, N.J. Taylor2, C.M. Faquet2 and M.E.C. Rey1*
1School of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
2International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology (ILTAB), Danforth Plant Science Center, 975 Warson Road, St Louis, MO 63132, Missouri, U.S.A.
Accepted 14 June, 2019
Abstract
Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is undoubtedly the most widespread disease in cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) in sub-Saharan Africa. While African cassava mosaic virus-Kenya (ACMV-KE), African cassava mosaic virus-Uganda (ACMV-UG), African cassava mosaic virus-India (ACMV-IC), East African cassava mosaic virus-Cameroon (EACMV-CM) and a recombinant East African cassava mosaic virus-India/Cameroon (EACMV-CM/IC) can be transmitted easily and repeatedly to Nicotiana benthamiana plants, difficulty in mechanical transmission and multiplication of EACMV-UG and South African cassava mosaic virus (SACMV) in N. benthamiana appears to place them biologically in a different group. In vitro grown 3-week-old cassava plants were biolistically inoculated with SACMV DNA A and B dimers and infectivity measured using a system based on visual assessment. We report for the first time successful infection, induced by SACMV DNA A and B dimer, of cassava cultivar TMS60444 using biolistic inoculation. Typical mosaic symptoms started to show at 14 days post-inoculation (dpi) in infected cassava plants, and SACMV replication was confirmed using PCR. Potential applications of biolistic infection of SACMV are also discussed.
Key words: Cassava, biolistic, inoculation, SACMV.