First report of Eggplant mottled dwarf virus in mainland Spain

Eggplant mottled dwarf virus (EMDV; Rhabdoviridae) was first reported in eggplant (Solanum melongena) from southern Italy in 1969; it has also been detected in hosts within the family Cucurbitaceae (Ciuffo et al., 1999). The leafhopper Agallia vorobjevi was identified as a vector for EMDV transmission in Iran (Babaie & Izadpanah, 2003). EMDV is widespread in most Mediterranean countries, but in Spain the virus has only been described in the Canary Islands (Brunt et al., 1996). In June 2005, vein-clearing, leaf crinkling and stunting symptoms were observed in approximately 5 % of cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus), grown in 3 greenhouses in northeastern Spain. The virus was mechanically transmitted to Gomphrena globosa, Chenopodium quinoa and Petunia hybrida; producing local lesions 5 to 10 days after inoculation. Mechanical transmission to cucumber, Nicotiana glutinosa, N. benthamiana, N. tabacum cv. Xanthi and Solanum melongena sporadically induced local lesions and finally showed symptoms of systemic infection. In some hosts, systemic symptoms only appeared 35 days after inoculation, consistent with the biological characteristics for EMDV (Roggero et al., 1987). No infection was found with Capsicum annuum, Datura stramonium and Lycopersicon esculentum. Symptomatic field plants and experimental plants mechanically infected under greenhouse conditions were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using a polyclonal antiserum (As-0836, DSMZ, Braunschweig, Germany). Extracts giving optical density values at least five-fold higher than equivalent healthy controls were considered positive. Serological assays also confirmed the presence of EMDV in eggplant leaf samples collected in the same geographical area showing mottling, vein clearing and leaf deformation. Sap extracts from infected eggplant samples gave a similar host range of infection to sap extracts from infected cucumber. To our knowledge, this is the first report of EMDV in the Iberian Peninsula and the first report of EMDV infecting cucumber and eggplant in Spain.