Complete genomic RNA sequence of pepper-infecting Chilli veinal mottle virus Korean isolate

Abstract

Pepper plants showing mottle or severe mosaic patterns were randomly collected from fields in the Chungnam province of Korea. The major pepper-infecting viruses reported in Korea have been Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), and Pepper mottle virus (PepMoV); Chilli veinal mottle virus (ChiVMV) was first observed in Korea in 2006. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the genomic sequence and phylogenetic analysis of a ChiVMV strain from Korea. A Korean strain of ChiVMV (ChiVMV-Kr) was isolated from a diseased hot pepper plant, and its full-length genomic RNA sequence was determined. The genomic RNA of ChiVMV-Kr was 9 710 nucleotides long, and it encoded a single polyprotein of 3 088 amino acids. The genomic sequence of this isolate is more closely related to the Taiwanese isolate ChiVMV-Ca than it is to the Indian isolate ChiVMV-I. Comparison of the genes of the Korean isolate with those of ChiVMV-Ca revealed that they were 96.7% (nuclear inclusion protein b, = Nlb) to 100.0% (protease1, = P1; helper component-proteinase, = HC-Pro; protein of 6 kDa 1 and 2, = 6K1 and 6K2) identical at the amino acid level. The relationship of ChiVMV to other potyviruses was studied by phylogenetic analysis. ChiVMV was found out to be grouped together with Pepper veinal mottle virus (PVMV), Wild tomato mosaic virus (WTMV), Chili ringspot virus (ChiRSV), and Tobacco vein banding mosaic virus (TVBMV). Other pepper-infecting potyviruses such as PepMoV, Peru tomato mosaic virus (PTV), Pepper severe mosaic virus (PepSMV), Potato virus Y (PVY), and Tobacco etch virus (TEV) were in a different group. The P1 and coat protein (CP) regions of 5 additional Indonesian isolates were sequenced and compared with those of ChiVMV-Kr to investigate genetic variability.