Weed hosts of Pepino mosaic potexvirus
Pepino mosaic potexvirus (PepMV - EPPO Alert List) was first reported in Spain in 2000. It is present along the southern and eastern regions of Spain (provinces of Granada, Almería, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona), in Baleares and Islas Canarias. In summer 2001 and 2002, virus-like symptoms were observed in wild plants growing in the vicinity or within tomato fields in the provinces of Murcia and Almería. 62 samples of 42 common weed species were collected and tested for the presence of PepMV (DAS-ELISA with confirmation by RT-PCR). The presence of PepMV was detected in the following weed species: Bassia scoparia, Calystegia sepium, Chenopodium murale, Convolvulus althaeoides, Convolvulus arvensis, Conyza albida, Coronopus sp., Diplotaxis erucoides, Echium creticum, Echium humile, Heliotropium europaeum, Moricandia arvensis, Onopordum sp., Piptatherum multiflorum, Plantago afra, Rumex sp., Sisymbrium irio, Sonchus tenerrimus, Taraxacum vulgare. Although further studies are needed to assess more precisely the role of weed reservoirs in outbreaks of PepMV, these observations show that weeds might act as potential virus sources.
Sources
Córdoba MC, Martínez-Priego L, Jordá C (2004) New natural hosts of Pepino mosaic virus in Spain.
Plant Disease, 88(8), p 906.