New early phenotypic markers for cucumber green mottle mosaic virus disease in cucumbers exposed to fluctuating extreme temperatures

Abstract

Abstract Studies of early stages of cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) disease have been recently focused on plant molecular responses. However, extreme diurnal environmental temperatures, characteristic of global climate changes, could affect plant susceptibility and disease phenotype progression. Our studies of CGMMV disease progression, under simulated extreme temperature waves, have revealed two new disease initiation phenotypes that developed gradually, preceding severe symptom manifestations of post-recovery CGMMV systemic infections. 'Early post-recovery stage' bright yellow islands (BYIs) with defined boundaries amid asymptomatic leaf blades were first emerging followed by 'late post-recovery stage' BYIs with diffused boundaries. A deduced CGMMV disease progression scheme, postulating BYI symptom occurrence time-windows, revealed BYIs in field grown cucumber plants exposed to extreme diurnal temperatures. Profiling ontology of cucumber differentially expressed genes in BYIs vs the associated dark-green surrounding tissues disclosed activation of jasmonic acid (JA) pathway in 'early post-recovery stage' BYIs. JA signaling was inactivated in 'late post-recovery stage' BYIs concomitant with increasing expressions of JA signaling inhibitors and downregulation of JA responsive phenylpropanoid pathway. Our results disclosed a new phenotypic description of CGMMV disease initiation, characteristic of cucumbers grown under extreme environmental temperature fluctuations. The BYI phenotypes could define a time-window for CGMMV disease management applications.