VIEW ARTICLE

Etiology

Symptom Modification by Satellite Tobacco Mosaic Virus in Pepper Types and Cultivars Infected with Helper Tobamoviruses. Gerardo Rodriguez- Alvarado, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside 92521; Gael Kurath, and J. Allan Dodds. Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Riverside 92521. Phytopathology 84:617-621. Accepted for publication 7 March 1994. Copyright 1994 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-84-617.

The presence of satellite tobacco mosaic virus (STMV) in coinfection with eight helper viruses in 23 hosts has previously been reported to cause no change in the symptoms induced by the helper viruses alone. This is not the case for systemic infection of certain types and cultivars of pepper, Capsicum annuum. In Jalapeņo and Pimiento pepper plants, the presence of STMV in coinfections with TMV-U2 caused increased chlorosis in the form of abundant, bright-yellow patches relative to the mosaic caused by TMV-U2 alone. Increased chlorosis also was observed when TMV-U5 and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV) were used as helper viruses. In Jalapeņo the presence of STMV ameliorated severe blistering (leaf distortion) caused transiently by TMV-U2 at approximately 6 wk after inoculation. The concentration of TMV-U2 in Jalapeņo plants was reduced by 87% in coinfection with STMV compared to infection by TMV-U2 alone.