Caracterización biológica y molecular de potyvirus presentes en plantas de Cucurbita moschata en Cuba = Biological and molecular characterization of potyviruses present in Cucurbita moschata plants in Cuba

Abstract

Problemática: Las cucurbitáceas (Cucurbitaceae) poseen excelentes características agronómicas, ocupando un papel importante en la producción agrícola como fuente primaria de vegetales y frutas. No obstante, estos cultivos son afectados por diversas enfermedades entre las que se encuentran las causadas por virus, las cuales no han sido bien documentadas en nuestro país. Objetivo: Caracterizar los potyvirus que afectan Cucurbita moschata en Cuba para el establecimiento de metodologías en el manejo de las enfermedades asociadas a estos virus. Metodología: Se hicieron prospecciones en regiones productores y patios de varias provincias y se colectaron muestras con sintomatologías similares a las inducidas por virus.

Problem: Cucurbits (Cucurbitaceae) have excellent agronomic characteristics and play an important role in agricultural production as a primary source of vegetables and fruits. However, these crops are affected by several diseases, including those caused by viruses, which have not been well documented in our country. Objective: To characterize potyviruses affecting Cucurbita moschata in Cuba for the establishment of methodologies in the management of diseases associated with these viruses. Methodology: Prospecting was carried out in producing regions and yards of several provinces and samples with symptomatologies similar to those induced by viruses were collected. For molecular detection, total RNA was purified using the RNeasy Plant Mini kit (QIAGEN) and cDNA was synthesized from 1 μg of total RNA using the High-Capacity cDNA Reverse Transcription kit (Applied Biosystems). Generic primers for potyviruses were used in the RT-PCR reactions, the products of which were sequenced and analyzed for homology search in the GenBank database.