Alternanthera Mosaic Virus identified in clock vine in Florida
A. VITORELI (1), C. A. Baker (2), C. L. Harmon (3)
(1) University of Florida, Department of Plant Pathology Extension Plant Disease Clinic, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.; (2) Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.; (3) University of Florida, Department of Plant Pathology and Southern Plant Diagnostic Network, Gainesville, FL, U.S.A.
Phytopathology 101:S183

Clock vine (Thunbergia laurifolia) is a new host for Alternanthera Mosaic Virus. A sample of clock vine from a commercial greenhouse in Florida was observed to have virus-like symptoms including mottling, mosaic patterns, ringspots, and chlorosis. Approximately 10% of 50 plants were affected, including the mother plant used for vegetative propagation. ELISA tests using Papaya Mosaic Potexvirus antisera and microscopic observation of spindle-shaped inclusion bodies indicated the plant was infected with a potexvirus. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using Miglino’s potex-4 and potex-5 primers produced an expected amplicon of 280bp. The PCR product was sequenced and compared to sequences in NCBI GenBank, resulting in a 97% identity match with Alternanthera Mosaic Virus (AltMV) GenBank accession DQ393785. AltMV has been previously reported in Australia, Europe, North America and South America in ornamentals such as Crossandra spp., Phlox stolonifera, Portulaca grandiflora, and Scutellaria spp.