BIOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ISOLATE OF PELARGONIUM ZONATE SPOT VIRUS INFECTING SUNFLOWER IN ARGENTINA

GIOLITTI, FABIÁN; BEJERMAN, NICOLÁS; NOME CLAUDIA; VISINTIN GRISELDA; DE BREUIL SOLEDAD; LENARDON, SERGIO

JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY

EDIZIONI ETS

Lugar: Pisa; Año: 2014 vol. 96 p. 189 - 194

1125-4653

Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) plants showing chloroticconcentric rings and line patterns on the leaves wereobserved in field crops near Paraná city (Entre Ríos, Argentina).Virus-enriched preparations examined with atrasmission electron microscope contained quasi-sphericalparticles ca. 33 nm in diameter. Symptomatic sunflowersamples were serologically negative for six known membersof the family Bromoviridae when tested with commercialantisera, but in later tests gave a positive reactionwith a Pelargonium zonate spot virus (PZSV) antiserum.The virus was mechanically transmitted to 16 plant speciesbelonging to four families. Its complete genomic sequence,obtained by pyrosequencing, had an organization typicalof members of the family Bromoviridae. Three contigs resultingfrom de novo assembly of deep sequencing readsshowed 90.0%, 94.7% and 93.9% nucleotide identitywith RNA-1 (GenBank accession No. AJ272327), RNA-2(AJ272328) and RNA-3 (AJ272329), respectively, of Pelargoniumzonate spot virus (PZSV), a member of the genusAnulavirus described in Italy. Therefore, the virus associatedwith chlorotic concentric rings and line pattern symptomsin sunflower was identified as an isolate of PZSV. Toour knowledge, this is the first reference to PZSV infectingsunflower worldwide and the first report of its presencein South America.