Systemic movement of a movement-deficient strain of Cucumber mosaic virus in zucchini squash is facilitated by a cucurbit-infecting potyvirus.
Zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo) is a systemic host for most strains of the cucumovirus Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), although the long-distance movement of the M strain of CMV (M-CMV) is inhibited in some cultivars. However, co-infection of zucchini plants with M-CMV and the potyvirus Zucchini yellow mosaic virus strain A (ZYMV-A) allowed M-CMV to move systemically, as demonstrated by tissue-print analysis. These doubly infected plants exhibited severe synergism in pathology. Infection of zucchini squash by M-CMV and an attenuated strain of ZYMV (ZYMV-AG) showed a milder synergy in pathology, in which ZYMV-AG also facilitated the long-distance movement of M-CMV similar to that promoted by ZYMV-A. Variation in the extent of synergy in pathology by the two strains of ZYMV did not correlate with differences in levels of accumulation of either virus. Thus, the extent of synergy in pathology is at least in part independent of the resistance-neutralizing function of the potyvirus.