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First Report of Tomato spotted wilt virus in Common Agapanthus

Common agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox subsp. orientalis), native to South Africa, is a popular ornamental flowering bulb species belonging to the Amaryllidaceae and is commonly found in residential gardens. Roots from some Agapanthus sp. also are used in traditional medicine in Africa. Common agapanthus collected from a residential property in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, showed leaf symptoms of concentric ring and line patterns, irregular chlorotic blotches, and streaks. Symptomatic plants were severely stunted and failed to flower. Symptomatic leaves prematurely senesced, but young foliage subsequently produced was symptomless. Similar symptoms have been reported in other members of the Amaryllidaceae and are associated with infection by Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV; e.g., Nerine and Hippeastrum spp.) or Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV; e.g., Hippeastrum sp.) (2). The presence of TSWV and absence of CMV in symptomatic plants of common agapanthus was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Confirmation of TSWV infection was provided by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction assay with primers specific to the nucleocapsid protein gene of TSWV, with nucleic extracts from symptomatic plants producing an expected ≈800-bp amplicon (1). This is the first report of TSWV infection of any species within the Amaryllidaceae in Australia and the first report of the occurrence of TSWV in common agapanthus.

References: (1) R. K. Jain et al. Plant Dis. 82:900, 1998. (2) G. Loebenstein et al. 1995. Virus and Virus-like Diseases of Bulb and Flower Crops. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, U.K.