ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbe and Virus Interactions with Plants
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1654471
Seed transmission of Carlavirus vignae (Cowpea mild mottle virus): A hidden driver of veinal necrosis and bud blight disease in soybean (Glycine max) in India
Provisionally accepted
Dhruva Nitin Bhagwatkar
Nagamani Sandra*
Ankita TripathiGarima DalalSharankumar KesaratagiManisha SainiSandeep Kumar Lal
Sanjay Kumar Lal- Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
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A comprehensive investigation was conducted to determine the seed transmission potential of cowpea mild mottle virus (CPMMV) associated with veinal necrosis and bud blight (VNB) disease in soybean (Glycine max) under Indian agroecological conditions during 2024 at ICAR-IARI, New Delhi. Seeds were collected from two CPMMV infected soybean genotypes, Asb-114 and AMS-2022-1 and mechanically sap inoculated cowpea genotypes Arka Samrudhi and Arka Suman. Serological testing of soybean and cowpea seeds using DAC-ELISA did not detect the virus with low absorbance values whereas RT-PCR with coat protein (CP)-specific primers confirmed the presence of CPMMV in whole seed, seed coat, cotyledons, and embryo with the amplification of 867bp region. Grow out assays demonstrated the vertical transmission of CPMMV to the F₁ (75%) and F₂ (100%) progenies with the symptoms of necrotic spots and confirmed through RT-PCR and RT-qPCR. In parallel, cowpea genotypes were also confirmed for CPMMV infection in leaves, whole seed and seed parts by RT-PCR indicating the seed borne nature of the virus. Quantitative analysis using RT-qPCR revealed the highest viral titers in field infected soybean seeds (9.83 × 104-5.35 × 107), followed by F₁ seeds (8.60 × 104-1.40 × 106) and the lowest in cowpea seeds (3.19 × 104-1.36 × 105) harvested from mechanically sap inoculated plants. CPMMV infection significantly reduced seed quality parameters including 100-seed weight (4.32-6.66gm), germination percentage (55 -81%), fresh weight and seedling vigour indices I and II in both the soybean genotypes. Biochemical analysis showed a marked elevation in H₂O₂, PAL and CAT activity while POX, SOD and total phenol content showed non-significant increases. Collectively, this study provides the definitive evidence of seed transmission of the CPMMV-VNB isolate in soybean and cowpea, highlighting its detrimental effects on seed quality and reinforcing its epidemiological importance in legume pathology.
Keywords: Cowpea mild mottle virus, Soybean, Seed transmission, Seed quality, Veinalnecrosis and bud blight disease
Received: 26 Jun 2025; Accepted: 21 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bhagwatkar, Sandra, Tripathi, Dalal, Kesaratagi, Saini, Lal and Lal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Nagamani Sandra, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR), New Delhi, India
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