A naturally occurring recombinant isolate of Lettuce mosaic virus

Genetic Diversity of Potyviruses Associated with Tulip Breaking Syndrome

Tulip breaking is economically the most important viral disease of modern-day tulip growing. It is characterized by irregular flame and feather-like patterns in the flowers and mosaic on the foliage. Thirty-two leaf samples were collected from cultivated tulip plants showing tulip breaking syndrome from Hungary in 2017 and 2018. Virus identification was performed by serological (ELISA) and molecular (RT-PCR) methods. All samples proved to be infected with a potyvirus and evidence was provided that three potyvirus species could be identified in the samples: Lily mottle virus (LMoV), Tulip breaking virus (TBV) and Rembrandt tulip-breaking virus (ReTBV). Recombination prediction accomplished with Recombination Detection Program (RDP) v4.98 revealed potential intraspecies recombination in the case of TBV and LMoV. Phylogenetic analyses of the coat protein (CP) regions proved the monophyletic origin of these viruses and verified them as three different species according to current International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) species demarcation criteria. Based on these results, we analyzed taxonomic relations concerning potyviruses associated with tulip breaking syndrome. We propose the elevation of ReTBV to species level, and emergence of two new subgroups in ReTBV.

Recombination analysis of Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV) in the Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) subgroup of potyviruses

Recombination among RNA viruses is a natural phenomenon that appears to have played a significant role in the species development and the evolution of many strains. It also has particular significance for the risk assessment of plants which have been genetically modified for disease resistance by incorporating viral sequences into their genomes. However, the exact recombination events taking place in viral genomes are not investigated in detail for many virus groups. In this analysis, different single-stranded positive-sense RNA potyviruses were compared using various in silico recombination detection methods and new recombination events in the Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) subgroup were detected. For an extended in silico recombination analysis, two of the analyzed Maize dwarf mosaic virus full-length genomes were sequenced additionally during this work. These results strengthen the evidence that recombination is a major driving force in virus evolution, and the emergence of new virus variants in the SCMV subgroup, paired with mutations, could generate viruses with altered biological properties. The intra- and interspecific homolog recombinations seem to be a general trait in this virus group, causing little or no changes to the amino acid of the progenies. However, we found a few breakpoints between the members of SCMV subgroup and the weed-infecting distant relatives, but only a few methods of the RDP3 package predicted these events with low significance level.

Sequencing of two sunflower chlorotic mottle virus isolates obtained from different natural hosts shed light on its evolutionary history

Sunflower chlorotic mottle virus (SuCMoV), the most prevalent virus of sunflower in Argentina, was reported naturally infecting not only sunflower but also weeds. To understand SuCMoV evolution and improve the knowledge on its variability, the complete genomic sequences of two SuCMoV isolates collected from Dipsacus fullonum (-dip) and Ibicella lutea (-ibi) were determined from three overlapping cDNA clones and subjected to phylogenetic and recombination analyses. SuCMoV-dip and -ibi genomes were 9,953-nucleotides (nt) long; their sequences contained an open reading frame of 9,561 nucleotides, which encoded a polyprotein of 3,187 amino acids flanked by a 5'-noncoding region (NCR) of 135 nt and a 3'-NCR of 257 nt. SuCMoV-dip and -ibi genome nucleotide sequences were 90.9 identical and displayed 90 and 94.6 % identity to that of SuCMoV-C, and 90.8 and 91.4 % identity to that of SuCMoV-CRS, respectively. P1 of SuCMoV-dip and -ibi was 3-nt longer than that of SuCMoV-CRS, but 12-nt shorter than that of SuCMoV-C. Two recombination events were detected in SuCMoV genome and the analysis of d(N)/d(S) ratio among SuCMoV complete sequences showed that the genomic regions are under different evolutionary constraints, suggesting that SuCMoV evolution would be conservative. Our findings provide evidence that mutation and recombination would have played important roles in the evolutionary history of SuCMoV.

Molecular variability of sweet potato feathery mottle virus and other potyviruses infecting sweet potato in Peru

Several potyviruses are found infecting sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) in Peru, of which sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV, genus Potyvirus) is the most common. However, sequence data for these viruses are not available from Peru. In this study, the 3'-terminal approximately 1,800 nucleotide sequences of 17 potyvirus samples collected from the six main sweet potato-producing areas of Peru over the past 20 years were determined and analyzed. Results of sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis showed that three of the four recognized SPFMV strain groups, including the East African strain, are established in Peru as well as two other potyviruses: sweet potato virus G (SPVG) and sweet potato virus 2 (SPV2). The analysis further revealed that SPFMV, SPVG and SPV2 are related and form an Ipomoea-specific phylogenetic lineage within the genus Potyvirus and identified for the first time recombination events between viruses from different strain groups of SPFMV.

Identification of a naturally occurring recombinant isolate of Sugarcane mosaic virus causing maize dwarf mosaic disease

The complete nucleotide sequence of a potyvirus causing severe maize dwarf mosaic disease in Shaanxi province, northwestern China was determined (GenBank accession No. AY569692). The full genome is 9596 nucleotides in length excluding the 3 '-terminal poly (A) sequence. It contains a large open reading frame (ORF) flanked by a 149 nt 5'-untranslated region (UTR) and a 255 nt 3'-UTR. The putative polyprotein encoded by this large ORF comprises of 3063 amino acid residues. Sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analyses showed that this potyvirus is an isolate of Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV). The entire sequences shared identities of 89.6-97.6 % and 79.3-93.3% with 9 sequenced SCMV isolates at the nucleotide and deduced amino acid levels, respectively. But it showed much lower identities with Maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV), Sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) and Johnsongrass mosaic virus (JGMV) isolates. The putative coat protein sequence is identical to that of a Chinese maize isolate SCMV-HZ. However, partition comparisons and phylogenetic profile analyses of the viral nucleotide sequences indicated that it is a recombinant isolate of SCMV. The recombination sites are located within the 6K1 and CI coding regions.