Virus Infecting Forest Tree (Treculia africana Decne) and its Characterisation in Oban Forest Cross River State
Published: 2022-01-15
Page: 16-21
Issue: 2022 - Volume 5 [Issue 1]
B. A. Urim *
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management ,University of Cross River State, Nigeria.
V. T. Ebu
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria.
A. O. Alobi
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management ,University of Cross River State, Nigeria.
O. N. Ndifon
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management ,University of Cross River State, Nigeria.
N. M. Ifebueme
Department of Forestry and Wildlife Resources Management, University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Treculia africana Decne also called African breadfruit is a forest tree in the family Moraceae. The tree crop has been reported to play significant role in medicine, nutrition and agroforestry. A visit to Oban forest in Cross River State revealed mosaic symptoms on the leaves. This study was aimed at characterising and identifying virus infecting the tree crop, employing RT-PCR and gene sequence analysis as diagnostic tools. The infected leave samples were tested against RT-PCR using virus specific primer. The result of the study revealed that the amplified PCR generated a single product sequence which tested positive against RT-PCR. Sequence comparison with other virus sequences using BLASTn available at NCBI showed that the sequence has 92 % sequence identity with Alfafa mosaic virus (AMV) with accession number of MK607974.1 confirming that the virus under study is AMV. This is the first report of virus infection on tree crop in Cross River State, Nigeria.
Keywords: Treculia africana, mosaic, sequence, RT-PCR, Alfafa mosaic virus (AMV)