title: Molecular diagnosis of Papaya meleira virus (PMeV) from leaf samples of Carica papaya L. using conventional and real-time RT-PCR.
abstract: Papaya meleira virus (PMeV) is the causal agent of papaya sticky disease. This study describes two methods for molecular diagnosis of PMeV using conventional and real-time PCR. These methods were shown to be more efficient than current methods of viral detection using extraction of PMeV dsRNA and observation of symptoms in the field. The methods described here were used to evaluate the effect of inoculation of papaya plants with purified PMeV dsRNA on the progress of PMeV infection. A single inoculation with PMeV dsRNA was observed to delay the progress of the virus infection by several weeks. The possibility of vertical transmission of PMeV was also investigated. No evidence was found for PMeV transmission through seeds collected from diseased fruit. The implications of these results for the epidemiology of PMeV and the management of papaya sticky disease are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Núcleo de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Av. Marechal Campos, 1468, 29040-090, Vitória, ES, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paolla M V
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Abreu
authors.forename: João G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Piccin
authors.forename: Silas P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Buss
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.forename: Patricia M B
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Fernandes
mesh_terms: D029441:Carica / Q000821:virology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000821:virology*; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D012330:RNA, Double-Stranded