Paracoccus burnerae (HOMOPTERA; PLANOCOCCIDAE) AS A VECTOR OF Banana streak virus

Abstract

The Banana streak virus ( BSV ) is a causative agent of the banana streak disease (BSD) which causes considerable damage to banana production in tropical countries. The virus is vectored by several mealy bug species. However, the competence of the oleander mealy bug ( Paracoccus burnerae ) , in the transmission of BSV is unknown. Rolling Circle Amplification (RCA) technique was used to select both diseased and healthy plantlets fo r transmission experiments. RCA was conducted on viruliferous instars of P . burnerae and virus - inoculated plantlet DNA samples. The results revealed that P . burnerae is a vector of BSV . However, during hot conditions (24 - 30ºC), the insect was unable to acq uire and transmit BSV . Under cool conditions (9 - 20ºC), a minimum of 6 h of feeding time was necessary for P . burnerae instars to become viruliferous. These results indicate that P . burnerae is a vector of BSV and transmission efficiency depends on the ambi ent temperature and the feeding time.