First Report of Peanut mottle virus in Forage Peanut (Arachis pintoi) in the United States

Abstract

Arachis pintoi is one of the many perennial peanuts grown in many tropical and subtropical countries around the world. Although Peanut mottle virus (PeMoV) was reported in Arachis glabrata from Georgia in 2007, there are no reports of PeMoV infecting A. pintoi in the United States. In June 2017, samples of A. pintoi that originated from Hardee County, FL, plants showed a variety of symptoms ranging from yellowing to dark islands, green vein banding, and mild mottling. They tested positive initially with broad-spectrum lateral flow antibody immunoassay and later were confirmed by sequencing the reverse-transcription PCR products. Detection of PeMoV in A. pintoi is significant because it is transmitted by aphids in a nonpersistent manner and is seed-borne in A. hypogea. It is not known if PeMoV is seed-borne in A. pintoi. However, A. pintoi is commonly vegetatively propagated using stolon cuttings. It is possible that PeMoV can spread to A. pintoi in Florida by all these means, making maintenance of virus-free propagation stock plants important. To our knowledge, this is the first report of PeMoV in A. pintoi the United States.