Abstract
We determined the complete sequence and organization of the genome of a putative member of the genus Polerovirus tentatively named Pepper yellow leaf curl virus (PYLCV). PYLCV has a wider host range than Tobacco vein-distorting virus (TVDV) and has a close serological relationship with Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV) (both poleroviruses). The extracted viral RNA was subjected to SOLiD next-generation sequence analysis and used as a template for reverse transcription synthesis, which was followed by PCR amplification. The ssRNA genome of PYLCV includes 6,028 nucleotides encoding six open reading frames (ORFs), which is typical of the genus Polerovirus. Comparisons of the deduced amino acid sequences of the PYLCV ORFs 2-4 and ORF5, indicate that there are high levels of similarity between these sequences to ORFs 2-4 of TVDV (84-93%) and to ORF5 of CABYV (87%). Both PYLCV and Pepper vein yellowing virus (PeVYV) contain sequences that point to a common ancestral polerovirus. The recombination breakpoint which is located at CABYV ORF3, which encodes the viral coat protein (CP), may explain the CABYV-like sequences found in the genomes of the pepper infecting viruses PYLCV and PeVYV. Two additional regions unique to PYLCV (PY1 and PY2) were identified between nucleotides 4,962 and 5,061 (ORF 5) and between positions 5,866 and 6,028 in the 3' NCR. Sequence analysis of the pepper-infecting PeVYV revealed three unique regions (Pe1-Pe3) with no similarity to other members of the genus Polerovirus. Genomic analyses of PYLCV and PeVYV suggest that the speciation of these viruses occurred through putative recombination event(s) between poleroviruses co-infecting a common host(s), resulting in the emergence of PYLCV, a novel pathogen with a wider host range.
Highlights
Pepper (Capsicum annum) is an economically important crop worldwide including Israel, where about 3,000 hectares are grown year round for the local and export markets
The complete genome of Pepper yellow leaf curl virus (PYLCV) is composed of 6,028 nucleotides and has a typical polerovirus genome organization that includes six open reading frames (ORFs) (Figure 1)
PYLCV was found to be the causal agent of a new disease of pepper that has been spreading in Israel since 1998
Summary
Pepper (Capsicum annum) is an economically important crop worldwide including Israel, where about 3,000 hectares are grown year round for the local and export markets. Since 1998, a viral disease has been found in pepper crops in the south and east of Israel, causing serious economic damage. The disease symptoms include shortening of stem internodes, inter-veinal yellowing, upward curling of the leaf blade and small, discolored fruit. The disease-causing agent was tentatively named Pepper yellow leaf curl virus (PYLCV) [1,2,3]. Reports from Turkey and Tunisia [4] and more recently from India, Indonesia, Mali, Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand [5] inform of pepper crops showing symptoms similar to those found in PYLCV-infected pepper crops. According to the 2011 report of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses, http://www.ictvonline.org/virusTaxonomy.asp?
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