Bean leafroll virus (BLRV) in Argentina: molecular characterization and detection in alfalfa fields

TRUCCO VERONICA; DE BREUIL SOLEDAD; BEJERMAN, NICOLÁS; LENARDON, SERGIO; GIOLITTI, FABIÁN

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PLANT PATHOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2016

0929-1873

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the main foragecrop in Argentina and plays an essential role in the animalproduction chain, but it can be negatively affected bymany factors, such as viral diseases. Here, we report thepresence of Bean leafroll virus infecting alfalfa (BLRVArg),its distribution on alfalfa fields and its completegenome sequence. BLRV-Arg showed a prevalence ofover 50 % and a wide distribution in Argentine alfalfafields. The BLRV genome of the Manfredi isolate(Manfredi BLRV-Arg) is 5884 nucleotides in length, witha genome organization similar to that already reported forthis virus. The complete nucleotide sequence or selectedgenes were subjected to sequence comparisons. ManfrediBLRV-Arg had more than 96 % nucleotide and aminoacid sequence identities, both for complete genome sequenceand ORFs, with those of the two full-length genomesequences available in GenBank. The complete CPsequences of Manfredi BLRV-Arg showed an identitypercentage over 98 % at nt and deduced aa level whenwere compared with those of the other CP completesequences available in GenBank. This is the first evidencefor the presence of BLRV in Argentina, its geographicaldistribution in alfalfa production areas and the completegenome sequence of an isolate fromalfalfa as natural host.