Characterization of the gut microbes of greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella Linnaeus) shows presence of potential polymer degraders.

Greater wax moth (GWM), Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a highly destructive honey bee pest prevalent throughout the world. It is considered as a major factor to the alarming decline in honey bee population. GWM destroys active honey combs as it feeds on the beeswax and lays eggs in bee hives, and the primary food of their larva is beeswax.

Molecular characterization and sequence analyses of Banana bunchy top virus infecting banana cultivar Jahaji (Dwarf Cavendish) in Assam, India.

Several isolates of Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) have been reported worldwide. They are members of either the Pacific Indian Ocean (PIO) or the South East Asian (SEA) group. However, there is only one completely sequenced isolate published from the northeastern part of India till date.

Revealing shared differential co-expression profiles in rice infected by virus from reoviridae and sequiviridae group.

Differential co-expression is a cutting-edge approach to analyze gene expression data and identify both shared and divergent expression patterns. The availability of high-throughput gene expression datasets and efficient computational approaches have unfolded the opportunity to a systems level understanding of functional genomics of different stresses with respect to plants. We performed the meta-analysis of the available microarray data for reoviridae and sequiviridae infection in rice with the aim to identify the shared gene co-expression profile.

Emergence of a Latent Indian Cassava Mosaic Virus from Cassava Which Recovered from Infection by a Non-Persistent Sri Lankan Cassava Mosaic Virus.

The major threat for cassava cultivation on the Indian subcontinent is cassava mosaic disease (CMD) caused by cassava mosaic geminiviruses which are bipartite begomoviruses with DNA A and DNA B components. Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV) and Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) cause CMD in India. Two isolates of SLCMV infected the cassava cultivar Sengutchi in the fields near Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram cities of Kerala State, India.

Bacilliform DNA-containing plant viruses in the tropics: commonalities within a genetically diverse group.

Unlabelled: Plant viruses, possessing a bacilliform shape and containing double-stranded DNA, are emerging as important pathogens in a number of agricultural and horticultural crops in the tropics. They have been reported from a large number of countries in African and Asian continents, as well as from islands from the Pacific region. The viruses, belonging to two genera, Badnavirus and Tungrovirus, within the family Caulimoviridae, have genomes displaying a common plan, yet are highly variable, sometimes even between isolates of the same virus.

Primary and secondary siRNAs in geminivirus-induced gene silencing.

In plants, RNA silencing-based antiviral defense is mediated by Dicer-like (DCL) proteins producing short interfering (si)RNAs. In Arabidopsis infected with the bipartite circular DNA geminivirus Cabbage leaf curl virus (CaLCuV), four distinct DCLs produce 21, 22 and 24 nt viral siRNAs. Using deep sequencing and blot hybridization, we found that viral siRNAs of each size-class densely cover the entire viral genome sequences in both polarities, but highly abundant siRNAs correspond primarily to the leftward and rightward transcription units.

Begomovirus research in India: a critical appraisal and the way ahead.

Begomoviruses are a large group of whitefly-transmitted plant viruses containing single-stranded circular DNA encapsidated in geminate particles. They are responsible for significant yield losses in a wide variety of crops in India. Research on begomoviruses has focussed on the molecular characterization of the viruses, their phylogenetic analyses, infectivities on host plants, DNA replication, transgenic resistance, promoter analysis and development of virus-based gene silencing vectors.

PCR-RFLP analysis indicates that recombination might be a common occurrence among the cassava infecting begomoviruses in India.

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is caused in India by two bipartite begomoviruses, Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV), and Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV). Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) was used as a rapid means of investigating the molecular diversity of ICMV and SLCMV in 38 samples of CMD-affected cassava plants under field conditions in new areas of cassava cultivation, along with traditional areas in southern India. A very large proportion of the samples showed SLCMV, based on a discriminatory PCR between SLCMV and ICMV, reported earlier.

Sequencing of RDR6-dependent double-stranded RNAs reveals novel features of plant siRNA biogenesis.

Biogenesis of trans-acting siRNAs (tasiRNAs) is initiated by miRNA-directed cleavage of TAS gene transcripts and requires RNA-dependent RNA polymerase 6 (RDR6) and Dicer-like 4 (DCL4). Here, we show that following miR173 cleavage the entire polyadenylated parts of Arabidopsis TAS1a/b/c and TAS2 transcripts are converted by RDR6 to double-stranded (ds)RNAs. Additionally, shorter dsRNAs are produced following a second cleavage directed by a TAS1c-derived siRNA.

Massive production of small RNAs from a non-coding region of Cauliflower mosaic virus in plant defense and viral counter-defense.

To successfully infect plants, viruses must counteract small RNA-based host defense responses. During infection of Arabidopsis, Cauliflower mosaic pararetrovirus (CaMV) is transcribed into pregenomic 35S and subgenomic 19S RNAs. The 35S RNA is both reverse transcribed and also used as an mRNA with highly structured 600 nt leader.

Sequencing and computational analysis of complete genome sequences of Citrus yellow mosaic badna virus from acid lime and pummelo.

Citrus yellow mosaic badna virus (CMBV), a member of the Family Caulimoviridae, Genus Badnavirus, is the causative agent of Citrus mosaic disease in India. Although the virus has been detected in several citrus species, only two full-length genomes, one each from Sweet orange and Rangpur lime, are available in publicly accessible databases. In order to obtain a better understanding of the genetic variability of the virus in other citrus mosaic-affected citrus species, we performed the cloning and sequence analysis of complete genomes of CMBV from two additional citrus species, Acid lime and Pummelo.

Agroinfection of cloned Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus DNA to Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana tabacum and cassava.

Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) is a bipartite begomovirus infecting cassava in India and Sri Lanka. We have used Agrobacterium-mediated inoculation (agroinoculation) of cloned SLCMV DNA to inoculate additional hosts, Nicotiana tabacum and Arabidopsis. Although SLCMV infection in these hosts caused stunting, leaf deformation and developmental abnormalities, accumulation levels of viral DNA in the infected plants suggested that this virus was poorly adapted to them.

A comparison of four DNA extraction methods for the detection of Citrus yellow mosaic badna virus from two species of citrus using PCR and dot-blot hybridization.

Nucleic acid preparations extracted using four procedures were assessed to determine the suitability of the procedure for PCR-based and DNA dot-blot-based detection of Citrus yellow mosaic badna virus (CMBV) from two citrus species, acid lime and pummelo. It was found that the success of PCR detection depended upon the procedure of DNA extraction whereas the dot-blot detection was successful with all extraction methods examined. CMBV DNA sequences amplified from two citrus species indicated high nucleotide sequence identity to the sequences reported previously from sweet orange.

Deletion and recombination events between the DNA-A and DNA-B components of Indian cassava-infecting geminiviruses generate defective molecules in Nicotiana benthamiana.

Cloned DNA-B components, belonging to the bipartite begomoviruses Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV) and Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV), family Geminiviridae, when co-inoculated along with previously cloned DNA-A components of the respective viruses onto the experimental host Nicotiana benthamiana, generated defective DNAs (def-DNA) ranging in size from 549 to 1555 nucleotides. All the cloned def-DNAs contained the common region (CR) as well as portions of either DNA-A or DNA-B and, in a few cases, both DNA-A and DNA-B, representing recombinant products, the junction points of which correspond to repeats of 2-11 bases found in the parental molecules. The DNA-B-derived def-DNAs were, in some cases, associated with a decrease in levels of DNA-B, with a concomitant change in the symptoms from downward leaf curling in the older leaves to upward leaf-rolling in newly emerging leaves, more typical of monopartite begomoviruses.