Genomic and biological characterization of a novel strain of sweet potato latent virus isolated from lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.)

Abstract

Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn) is a perennial aquatic plant that is economically important to China. Presently, only two viruses are found on lotus: cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and dasheen mosaic virus (DsMV). In this study, one novel strain of sweet potato latent virus was identified from lotus (SPLV-lotus) by next-generation sequencing of sRNA and conventional Sanger sequencing in Jiangsu province, China. The complete genome sequence of SPLV-lotus shared 76.43–76.76% identities with other five reported isolates, and the polyprotein sequence shared 76.28–76.60% identities, these values were close to the species demarcation criteria of the family Potyviridae. Compared with other reported SPLV isolates, SPLV-lotus has a substantially shorter P3N-PIPO length. Twenty-one CP coding region sequences from positive lotus samples were determined. Phylogenetic analysis based on CP coding region also supported that SPLV isolated from lotus were clustered into a separate group. SPLV-lotus could infect Glycine max, Cucumis sativus, Nicotiana benthamiana, Chenopodium amaranticolor, Chenopodium quinoa and Ipomoea batatas, but without typical symptoms. Field surveys showed that SPLV-lotus is prevalently distributed in China. This study will have an important impact on control strategies for viral diseases of lotus.