Pelargonium chlorotic ring pattern virus: first report in Spain
*cahernan@ibmcp.upv.es
1 Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Plantas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-UPV, Ciudad Politécnica de la Innovación, Avenida Ingeniero Fausto Elio s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
2 Dpto. I+D, Fundación PROMIVA, Finca La Veguilla M-501, km 5,1, 28660, Madrid, Spain
Accepted: 11 Jul 2007
A recent survey of asymptomatic ornamental geraniums (Pelargonium zonale, P. peltatum and P. grandiflorum) in Spain (2000-2003) revealed viral infections in 52.4 % of the tested plants (Alonso & Borja, 2005). Most infected plants contained tombus-like viruses such as Pelargonium line pattern virus (PLPV), either alone or in combination with other viral pathogens. Several little-studied PLPV-related viruses have been reported in Pelargonium spp. but their distribution and importance to geranium growers is unknown since they are not usually included in phytosanitary programs. One of these viruses, Pelargonium chlorotic ring pattern virus (PCRPV), was recently sequenced (GenBank Accession AY038069) and found to be related to PLPV in nucleotide sequence and genome organization (Kinard & Jordan, 2002; Castaño & Hernández, 2005).
The objective was to assess the occurrence of PCRPV in Spain. Five samples from the previous survey and three gathered in 2006 were tested. Total RNA was extracted using Plant RNA Reagent (Invitrogen) and reverse transcribed with Superscript II-RT (Invitrogen) and primer CH149 (5´-CCGATTCTCGAGCTGCCAATC-3´), complementary to positions 1543-1523 of PCRPV. PCR used primers CH149 and CH148 (5´-CGGTTTGAGCACTCTGCGTATC-3´), homologous to positions 1277-1298 of PCRPV. An amplicon of the expected size (267 bp comprising a region of the viral polymerase gene) was generated in five samples from different geographical origins (Zaragoza, Zamora, Aranjuez and Córdoba) and collecting times (2000, 2003 and 2006). The amplicons derived from two separate samples were sequenced (GenBank Accessions EF635383 and EF635384) and showed 95 % nucleotide and 99-100 % amino acid sequence identity with the PCRPV reference sequence.
An Italian isolate of PCRPV was recovered from a P. zonale plant with vein banding and leaf distortion (Lisa et al., 1996; Kinard & Jordan, 2002); however from our results, PCRPV infection can also be asymptomatic.
To our knowledge, this is the first report of PCRPV in Spain.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by grants AGL2003-04249 and PTR1995-0872-OP from the Ministerio de Educacií³n y Ciencia (MEC) of Spain (to C. H.). L. R. was recipient of a contract from the Juan de la Cierva program of MEC.
References
- Alonso M, Borja M, 2005. High incidence of Pelargonium line pattern virus infecting asymptomatic Pelargonium spp. in Spain. European Journal of Plant Pathology 112, 95-100.
- Castaño A, Hernández C, 2005. Complete nucleotide sequence and genome organization of Pelargonium line pattern virus and its relationship with the family Tombusviridae. Archives of Virology 150, 949-65.
- Kinard GR, Jordan R, 2002. Genome organization of Pelargonium chlorotic ring pattern virus: further implications for Tombusviridae taxonomy. Acta Horticulturae 568, 17-27.
- Lisa V, Vaira AM, Dellavalle G, Masenga V, Milne RG, 1996. Viruses of pelargonium in Italy. Acta Horticulturae 432, 108-17.
This report was formally published in Plant Pathology
©2007 The Authors