Variability in the coat protein of Lily symptomless virus isolates infecting various lily species

Abstract

The coat protein sequences were characterized of Lily symptomless virus (LSV) isolates infecting Lilium longiflorum, Lilium tigrinum, Hymenocalis littoralis (spider lily) and Asiatic and Oriental hybrid lilies in India. The Indian isolates showed 78–96% homology with each other. With LSV isolates from elsewhere in the world, the Indian isolates showed 83–98% homology. The LSV‐L (L. longiflorum) and LSV‐A (Asiatic hybrid) isolates had unique stretches in the middle portion of the protein not found in other LSV isolates, even the Indian ones. The LSV gene sequence from the spider lily isolate (LSV‐S) was reported for the first time outside the Liliaceae. LSV‐S was 84–96% similar to the other Indian isolates at the protein level. The isolate infecting tiger lily (LSV‐T) was found to be different from the characterized isolates from elsewhere in the world (78–84% homology at the protein level). At the same time, LSV‐T showed much variability in the C‐terminal of the protein. A stretch of 41 amino acids in the C‐terminal was unique to this isolate. LSV‐T is proposed as a distinct isolate of LSV infecting L. tigrinum indigenous to India.