First report of Pepper yellow vein Mali virus associated with pepper yellow vein disease in Cote d'Ivoire

In Mali (Zhou et al., 2008) and Burkina Faso (Tiendrébéogo et al., 2008), pepper yellow vein disease (PYVD) is associated with the African monopartite begomovirus Pepper yellow vein Mali virus (PepYVMLV).

In January 2012 and August 2013, severe yellowing, leaf curling and deformation symptoms (Fig. 1), resembling those of PYVD were observed on pepper (Capsicum spp.) across Côte d'Ivoire (Table 1). Twenty leaf samples from pepper plants with symptoms were collected and tested for the presence of begomoviruses using a PCR assay with a set of degenerate primers designed to amplify the coat protein gene of Old World begomoviruses (Seka et al., 2016). PCR products of the expected size were obtained from seven samples, suggesting the presence of Old World monopartite begomoviruses (Table 1).

PCR-positive samples were further processed and viral genome sequences were amplified from three samples (Table 1) by rolling-circle amplification, cloned using the restriction enzyme BamHI and sequenced. The three genome sequences were 2,786 nucleotides in length (GenBank Accession Nos. KY271075-KY271077) and showed the highest pairwise sequence identity, 98 to 99%, with PepYVMLV isolates from Burkina Faso (PepYVMLV-[BF:Oua:sweet pepper1:08]; FM876849) and Mali (PepYVMLV-[ML:03]; AY502935). A maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree constructed with publicly available begomovirus genome sequences (MEGA6; Tamura et al., 2013), confirmed the genetic relationship of the Côte d'Ivoire isolates of PepYVMLV with isolates from neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali (Fig. 2).

To our knowledge, this is the first report of PepYVMLV associated with PYVD in Côte d’Ivoire. Our results confirm the geographical distribution of PepYVMLV in West Africa and the close genetic relationship of this viral population (Tiendrébéogo et al., 2008).