Complete nucleotide sequence of a new variant of grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus from southern Italy

Abstract

Grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (GRSPaV), genus Foveavirus, family Betaflexiviridae, is one of the most common viruses of grapevine and is widely distributed in many, if not all, grape-growing areas of the world. This virus is thought to be involved in the ‘rugose wood’ complex (RW) as the putative agent of the disorder known as Rupestris stem pitting (RSP) [1], and some of its strains have been shown to have a very close association with vein necrosis disease (VN) [2, 3]. This virus is also associated with Syrah decline [4], and its possible involvement in other disorders has also been suggested [5, 6]. Since the characterization of GRSPaV at the end of the 1990s [1, 7], a number of studies have revealed the remarkable genetic variability of this virus, which may reflect the puzzling pattern of its biological effects. Molecular investigations have led to complete sequencing of six viral isolates, named GRSPaV-1 (accession no. AF057136), GRSPV (AF026278), GRSPaV-SG1 (AY881626), GRSPaVBS (AY881627), GRSPaV-SY (AY368590) and GRSPaV-PN (AY368172). We now report the complete nucleotide (nt) sequence of a new viral isolate (GRSPaV-MG), deposited in GenBank under the accession number FR691076. Virus source and sequencing strategy