Abstract
Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) causes substantial economic losses in cucurbit crops. Although ZYMV has been present in Brazil for more than 20 years, there is little information about the biological and molecular characteristics of the isolates found in the country. This study aimed to characterize the experimental hosts, pathotypes and genetic diversity of a collection of eleven Brazilian ZYMV isolates within the coat protein gene. For biological analysis, plant species from Amaranthaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, and Pedaliaceae were mechanically inoculated and pathotypes were identified based on the reaction of a resistant Cucumis melo, accession PI414723. All of the cucurbit species/varieties and Sesamum indicum were systemically infected with all isolates. The nucleotide sequence variability of the coat protein gene ranged from 82 % to 99 % compared to the corresponding sequences of ZYMV isolates from different geographical locations. No recombination event was detected in the coat protein gene of the isolates.
Highlights
Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) belongs to the genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae; this positive sense single-stranded RNA virus has a genome of approximately 9,600 nucleotides contained in elongated and flexuous particles that are approximately 750 nm long and 12 nm in diameter
The nucleotide sequence variability of the coat protein gene ranged from 82 % to 99 % compared to the corresponding sequences of ZYMV isolates from different geographical locations
Eleven ZYMV isolates that were collected from seven states in Brazil were mechanically inoculated into a range of 19 plant species belonging to Amaranthaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Fabaceae, Solanaceae, and Pedaliaceae (Table 1)
Summary
Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) belongs to the genus Potyvirus, family Potyviridae; this positive sense single-stranded RNA virus has a genome of approximately 9,600 nucleotides contained in elongated and flexuous particles that are approximately 750 nm long and 12 nm in diameter. ZYMV affects all cultivated cucurbit species [zucchini squash Infected plants exhibit severe leaf mosaic, yellowing and eventually "shoestring" symptoms in the leaves. The fruits are stunted, twisted and deformed, resulting in reduced yield making the plants unmarketable, especially zucchini squash. In addition to cultivated species, ZYMV can systemically infect certain wild cucurbit species (Desbiez and Lecoq, 1997). The experimental evaluation of yield losses caused by ZYMV and the potyvirus Papaya ringspot virus - type W (PRSV - W) in zucchini squash showed that plants that were infected at 5, 15, and 20 days after emergence did not produce marketable fruits (Pereira et al, 2007)
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