Natural Infection of Vicia faba by Bidens mottle virus in Florida

In a study to evaluate the potential of Vicia faba (faba bean) as a cover and forage crop for Florida, 60 accessions of faba bean with diverse genetic backgrounds and geographic origins were acquired from the USDA Germplasm Repository in Pullman, WA. The beans were grown south of Lake Okeechobee in Belle Glade, FL, from December 2000 to April 2001. Reddish-brown elliptical lesions first appeared on the leaflets of two of the faba bean plants 10 to 12 weeks after planting. Within 2 weeks of initial symptoms, a mosaic pattern was expressed on the newly emergent leaves of the same plants. After disease expression, new pods aborted, while developing pods became stunted, distorted, and blistered. Potyvirus cylindrical inclusions (CI) were found in leaf strips (1) of the original plants. Viral symptoms were expressed in manually inoculated plants of Chenopodium amaraticolor, C. quinoa, Lactuca sativa, Nicotiana benthamiana, Petunia × hybrida, Verbena × hybrida, Vicia faba, and Zinnia elegans. Inoculated species of Phaseolus and Pisum were not infected. The virus causing the disease was identified as Bidens mottle virus (2) based on host range, characteristic CI in Z. elegans, and homologous lines of precipitation in SDS-immunodiffusion using antiserum to Bidens mottle and a known antigen. Both the primary host of this virus Bidens mottle virus and its aphid vectors are ubiquitous throughout Florida. To our knowledge, this is the first report of Bidens mottle virus infecting a member of the Leguminosae. References: (1) R. G. Christie and J. R. Edwardson. Light and Electron Microscopy of Plant Virus. Monogr. 9, IFAS, University of Florida, 1994. (2) D. E. Purcifull et al. Bidens mottle virus. Descriptions of Plant Viruses. No. 161. CMI/AAB, Surrey, England, 1976.