The leaf ultrastructure of Nicotiana glutinosa L., Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium L., and Physalis angulata L. inoculated with the tomato white necrosis virus (TWNV - Tymovirus) was analysed. Plants were kept in a greenhouse at 25 °C and inoculated with the virus when tree to four leaves were totally developed. Fifteen days after inoculation, samples were collected from the median third of the 3rd or 4th leaf from the apex. The samples were prepared for analysis using conventional transmission electron microscope techniques. The ultrastructural analysis of the chlorenquima cells showed vesiculation and vacuolation of the chloroplasts and mitochondria, presence of multivesicular bodies, and a slight dilation of the plasmodesmata in N. glutinosa and L. pimpinellifolium. In these two species, virus-like particles were seen in the cytoplasm and vacuoles. P. angulata plants did not show subcellular alterations. Macroscopic observations, retroinoculation tests, and ultrastructural analysis showed the presence of local and systemic symptoms in N. glutinosa, latency in L. pimpinellifolium, and immunity in P. angulata.
Tymovirus; TWNV; Solanaceae; leaf; ultrastructure
