High-throughput sequencing (HTS) was used to investigate ringspots on ivy (
Hedera helix
) leaves.
De novo
assembly of HTS data generated from a total RNA extract from these leaves yielded a contig ...with sequence similarity to viruses of the genus
Badnavirus,
family
Caulimoviridae
. The complete genome sequence of this virus consists of 8,885 nucleotides and has three open reading frames (ORFs). Genome organisation and phylogenetic analysis identifies this newly identified virus as a new member of the genus
Badnavirus
for which we propose the name "ivy ringspot-associated virus" (IRSaV).
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) comprise species of agricultural and economic importance. Five such fruit fly species are known to affect commercial fruit production and export in South Africa: ...Ceratitis capitata, Ceratitis cosyra, Ceratitis rosa, Ceratitis quilicii, and Bactrocera dorsalis. Management practices for these pests include monitoring, application of pest control products, post-harvest disinfestation measures and inspection of consignments both prior to shipment and at ports of entry. In activities relating to monitoring and inspection, accurate identification of these pests to species level is required. While morphological keys for adult stages of these fruit fly species have been well developed, morphological keys for earlier life stages remain problematic. In instances where closely related species cannot be reliably distinguished morphologically, there is a need for molecular tools to assist in identifying these five fruit fly species during surveillance practices, where sequencing-based approaches would be beneficial. Two complete mitochondrial genomes were assembled for each fruit fly species investigated using high throughput sequencing data generated in this study. A single primer set was designed to amplify a region between tRNA.sup.ile and tRNA.sup.met. The amplicon consists of a partial segment of tRNA.sup.ile, intergenic region I (tRNA.sup.ile - tRNA.sup.gln), the complete sequence of tRNA.sup.gln, intergenic region II (tRNA.sup.gln - tRNA.sup.met), and a partial segment of tRNA.sup.met. PCR amplicons were generated for 20 specimens of each species, five of which were colony adult males, five colony larvae, and 10 wild, trap-collected specimens. Upon analysis of the amplicon, intergenic region I was identified as the most informative region, allowing for unambiguous identification of the five fruit fly species. The similarity in intergenic region II was too high between C. rosa and C. quilicii for accurate differentiation of these species. The identity of all five fruit flies investigated in this study can be determined through sequence analysis of the mitochondrial intergenic regions. Within the target amplicon, intergenic region I (tRNA.sup.ile - tRNA.sup.gln) shows interspecific variation sufficient for species differentiation based on multiple sequence alignment. The variation in the length of intergenic region I is proposed as a potential tool for accurately identifying these five fruit flies in South Africa.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
The fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) species,
Ceratitis capitata
,
Ceratitis cosyra
,
Ceratitis rosa
,
Ceratitis quilicii
, and
Bactrocera dorsalis
are of economic importance in South ...Africa. These agricultural pests cause extensive damage to a range of commercially produced fruit, primarily for export. These pests are of phytosanitary significance, and their presence in fruit-producing regions in South Africa has led to restrictions in export trade of fresh produce. Accurate identification of these flies, particularly at immature stages intercepted in fruit consignments originating from South Africa, is essential but remains an ongoing challenge. A rapid and accurate identification assay to differentiate these five species is needed for inspection and pest surveillance. High throughput sequencing data were generated for each of the five fruit fly species, and five sets of species-specific primers were designed for use in a multiplex PCR. Each primer set amplifies an amplicon of a different size for each species allowing for accurate identification. PCR sensitivity tests demonstrate that the limit of detection for this assay is 10 ng and 4 ng of DNA when extracted from larvae and adult specimens, respectively. The assay developed can be applied in fruit inspection and survey activities within the country and at ports of entry.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The application of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) has successfully been used for virus discovery to resolve disease etiology in many agricultural crops. The greatest advantage of HTS is that it can ...provide a complete viral status of a plant, including information on mixed infections of viral species or virus variants. This provides insight into the virus population structure, ecology, or evolution and can be used to differentiate among virus variants that may contribute differently toward disease etiology. In this study, the use of HTS for citrus tristeza virus (CTV) genotype detection was evaluated. A bioinformatic pipeline for CTV genotype detection was constructed and evaluated using simulated and real data sets to determine the parameters to discriminate between false positive read mappings and true genotype-specific genome coverage. A 50% genome coverage cut-off was identified for non-target read mappings. HTS with the associated bioinformatic pipeline was validated and proposed as a CTV genotyping assay.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) was used to construct the virome profile of an old grapevine-leafroll-diseased grapevine (
Vitis vinifera
).
De novo
assembly of HTS data showed a complex infection, ...including a virus sequence with similarity to viruses of the genus
Badnavirus,
family
Caulimoviridae
. The complete genome sequence of this virus consists of 7090 nucleotides and has four open reading frames (ORFs). Genome organisation and phylogenetic analysis identify this virus as a divergent variant of grapevine Roditis leaf discoloration-associated virus (GRLDaV) with 90% nucleotide sequence identity to isolate w4 (NC_027131). This is the first genome sequence of a South African variant of GRLDaV.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The roles of proteins encoded by members of the genus
, family
are largely inferred by sequence homology or analogy to similarly located ORFs in related viruses. This study employed yeast two-hybrid ...and bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays to investigate interactions between proteins of grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3). The p5 movement protein, HSP70 homolog, coat protein, and p20B of GLRaV-3 were all found to self-interact, however, the mechanism by which p5 interacts remains unknown due to the absence of a cysteine residue crucial for the dimerisation of the closterovirus homolog of this protein. Although HSP70h forms part of the virion head of closteroviruses, in GLRaV-3, it interacts with the coat protein that makes up the body of the virion. Silencing suppressor p20B has been shown to interact with HSP70h, as well as the major coat protein and the minor coat protein. The results of this study suggest that the virion assembly of a member of the genus
occurs in a similar but not identical manner to those of other genera in the family
. Identification of interactions of p20B with virus structural proteins provides an avenue for future research to explore the mechanisms behind the suppression of host silencing and suggests possible involvement in other aspects of the viral replication cycle.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
High-throughput sequencing (HTS) has been applied successfully for virus and viroid discovery in many agricultural crops leading to the current drive to apply this technology in routine pathogen ...detection. The validation of HTS-based pathogen detection is therefore paramount.
Plant infections were established by graft inoculating a suite of viruses and viroids from established sources for further study. Four plants (one healthy plant and three infected) were sampled in triplicate and total RNA was extracted using two different methods (CTAB extraction protocol and the Zymo Research Quick-RNA Plant Miniprep Kit) and sent for Illumina HTS. One replicate sample of each plant for each RNA extraction method was also sent for HTS on an Ion Torrent platform. The data were evaluated for biological and technical variation focussing on RNA extraction method, platform used and bioinformatic analysis.
The study evaluated the influence of different HTS protocols on the sensitivity, specificity and repeatability of HTS as a detection tool. Both extraction methods and sequencing platforms resulted in significant differences between the data sets. Using a de novo assembly approach, complemented with read mapping, the Illumina data allowed a greater proportion of the expected pathogen scaffolds to be inferred, and an accurate virome profile was constructed. The complete virome profile was also constructed using the Ion Torrent data but analyses showed that more sequencing depth is required to be comparative to the Illumina protocol and produce consistent results. The CTAB extraction protocol lowered the proportion of viroid sequences recovered with HTS, and the Zymo Research kit resulted in more variation in the read counts obtained per pathogen sequence. The expression profiles of reference genes were also investigated to assess the suitability of these genes as internal controls to allow for the comparison between samples across different protocols.
This study highlights the need to measure the level of variation that can arise from the different variables of an HTS protocol, from sample preparation to data analysis. HTS is more comprehensive than any assay previously used, but with the necessary validations and standard operating procedures, the implementation of HTS as part of routine pathogen screening practices is possible.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) is the most widely prevalent and economically important of the complex of RNA viruses associated with grapevine leafroll disease (GLD). Phylogenetic ...studies have grouped GLRaV-3 isolates into nine different monophyletic groups and four supergroups, making GLRaV-3 a genetically highly diverse virus species. In addition, new divergent variants have been discovered recently around the world. Accurate identification of the virus is an essential component in the management and control of GLRaV-3; however, the diversity of GLRaV-3, coupled with the limited sequence information, have complicated the development of a reliable detection assay. In this study, GLRaV-3 sequence data available in GenBank and those generated at Foundation Plant Services, University of California-Davis, was used to develop a new RT-qPCR assay with the capacity to detect all known GLRaV-3 variants. The new assay, referred to as FPST, was challenged against samples that included plants infected with different GLRaV-3 variants and originating from 46 countries. The FPST assay detected all known GLRaV-3 variants, including the highly divergent variants, by amplifying a small highly conserved region in the 3' untranslated terminal region (UTR) of the virus genome. The reliability of the new RT-qPCR assay was confirmed by an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that can detect all known GLRaV-3 variants characterized to date. Additionally, three new GLRaV-3 divergent variants, represented by four isolates, were identified using a hierarchical testing process involving the FPST assay, GLRaV-3 variant-specific assays and high-throughput sequencing analysis. These variants were distantly related to groups I, II, III, V, VI, VII and IX, but much similar to GLRaV-3 variants with no assigned group; thus, they may represent new clades. Finally, based on the phylogenetic analysis, a new GLRaV-3 subclade is proposed and named as group X.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Introduction:
Extreme endurance events may result in numerous adverse metabolic, immunologic, and physiological perturbations that may diminish athletic performance and adversely affect the overall ...health status of an athlete, especially in the absence of sufficient recovery. A comprehensive understanding of the post-marathon recovering metabolome, may aid in the identification of new biomarkers associated with marathon-induced stress, recovery, and adaptation, which can facilitate the development of improved training and recovery programs and personalized monitoring of athletic health/recovery/performance. Nevertheless, an untargeted, multi-disciplinary elucidation of the complex underlying biochemical mechanisms involved in recovery after such an endurance event is yet to be demonstrated.
Methods:
This investigation employed an untargeted proton nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics approach to characterize the post-marathon recovering metabolome by systematically comparing the pre-, immediately post, 24, and 48 h post-marathon serum metabolite profiles of 15 athletes.
Results and Discussion:
A total of 26 metabolites were identified to fluctuate significantly among post-marathon and recovery time points and were mainly attributed to the recovery of adenosine triphosphate, redox balance and glycogen stores, amino acid oxidation, changes to gut microbiota, and energy drink consumption during the post-marathon recovery phase. Additionally, metabolites associated with delayed-onset muscle soreness were observed; however, the mechanisms underlying this commonly reported phenomenon remain to be elucidated. Although complete metabolic recovery of the energy-producing pathways and fuel substrate stores was attained within the 48 h recovery period, several metabolites remained perturbed throughout the 48 h recovery period and/or fluctuated again following their initial recovery to pre-marathon-related levels.
The evolutionary history of the exclusively grapevine (Vitis spp.) infecting, grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) has not been studied extensively, partly due to limited available ...sequence data. In this study we trace the evolutionary history of GLRaV-3, focussing on isolate GH24, a newly discovered variant. GH24 was discovered through the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) and the whole genome sequence determined and validated with Sanger sequencing. We assembled an alignment of all 13 available whole genomes of GLRaV-3 isolates and all other publicly available GLRaV-3 sequence data. Using multiple recombination detection methods we identified a clear signal for recombination in one whole genome sequence and further evidence for recombination in two more, including GH24. We inferred phylogenetic trees and networks and estimated the ages of common ancestors of GLRaV-3 clades by means of relaxed clock models calibrated with asynchronous sampling dates. Our results generally confirm previously identified variant groups as well as two new groups (VII and VIII). Higher order groups were defined as supergroups designated A to D. Supergroup A includes variant groups I-V and supergroup B group VI and its related unclassified isolates. Supergroups C and D are less well known, including the newly identified groups VII (including isolate GH24) and VIII respectively. The inferred node ages suggest that the origins of the major groups of GLRaV-3, including isolate GH24, may have occurred prior to worldwide cultivation of grapevines, whilst the current diversity represents closely related isolates that diverged from common ancestors within the last century.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK