Analysis of the molecular and biological variability of zucchini yellow mosaic virus isolates from Slovakia and Czech Republic

Update on Distribution and Genetic Variability of Plum pox virus Strains in Bulgaria

Field surveys for Plum pox virus (PPV) infection were conducted in stone fruit orchards all over Bulgaria. In total, 1168 out of 3020 leaf samples from cultivated Prunus spp. and wildly growing P. cerasifera trees reacted positive for PPV in DASI-ELISA with the universal monoclonal antibody (MAb) 5B. Further ELISA analyses showed that 987 and 127 isolates belonged to PPV-M and PPV-D serotypes, respectively. The plum and P. cerasifera showed 82.0% and 50.5% levels of infection, respectively followed by the peach (40.0%) and the apricot (32.0%). Five hundred fifty one PPV isolates were further typed by IC-RT-PCR with PPV-Rec, -M and -D-specific primers, targeting (Cter)NIb-(Nter) CP genome region, as 125 isolates were sequenced. The results revealed the presence of PPV-Rec, PPV-M and PPV-D and mixed infections of these strains. PPV-Rec was the most prevalent strain (49.0%), followed by PPV-M (40.1%), while PPV-D was the less spread strain (8.2%). PPV-Rec was the most common strain in plums, including the eight "old-aged" trees from the region of the first Sharka discovery. PPV-M was the most prevalent strain in peach and apricot. Phylogenetic analyses on (Cter)NIb-(Nter)CP of the isolates were performed. PPV-Rec isolates formed a homogeneous group, while PPV-M isolates split into PPV-Ma and PPV-Mb subgroups. Five separated clades were formed by the analyzed PPV-D isolates. Nucleotide sequences of the partial CP coding region of the analyzed isolates revealed a slightly higher intra-strain genetic variability in PPV-Rec and PPV-M isolates, while that of PPV-D strain isolates was higher from the reported for these strains.

Complete Genome Sequence of Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus Strain Kurdistan, Iran

The complete genome sequence of Zucchini yellow mosaic virus strain Kurdistan (ZYMV-Kurdistan) infecting squash from Iran was determined from 13 overlapping fragments. Excluding the poly (A) tail, ZYMV-Kurdistan genome consisted of 9593 nucleotides (nt), with 138 and 211 nt at the 5' and 3' non-translated regions, respectively. It contained two open-reading frames (ORFs), the large ORF encoding a polyprotein of 3080 amino acids (aa) and the small overlapping ORF encoding a P3N-PIPO protein of 74 aa. This isolate had six unique aa differences compared to other ZYMV isolates and shared 79.6-98.8% identities with other ZYMV genome sequences at the nt level and 90.1-99% identities at the aa level. A phylogenetic tree of ZYMV complete genomic sequences showed that Iranian and Central European isolates are closely related and form a phylogenetically homogenous group. All values in the ratio of substitution rates at non-synonymous and synonymous sites (d_N/d_S) were below 1, suggestive of strong negative selection forces during ZYMV protein history. This is the first report of complete genome sequence information of the most prevalent virus in the west of Iran. This study helps our understanding of the genetic diversity of ZYMV isolates infecting cucurbit plants in Iran, virus evolution and epidemiology and can assist in designing better diagnostic tools.

Deep sequencing of banana bract mosaic virus from flowering ginger (Alpinia purpurata) and development of an immunocapture RT-LAMP detection assay

Banana bract mosaic virus (BBrMV) has never been reported in banana plants in Hawaii. In 2010, however, it was detected in a new host, flowering ginger (Alpinia purpurata). In this study, we characterize the A. purpurata isolate and study its spread in flowering ginger in Hawaii. A laboratory study demonstrated that BBrMV could be transmitted from flowering ginger to its natural host, banana, therefore raising a serious concern about the potential risk to the rapidly growing banana industry of Hawaii. To quickly monitor this virus in the field, we developed a robust immunocapture reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (IC-RT-LAMP) assay. Deep sequencing of the BBrMV isolate from A. purpurata revealed a single-stranded RNA virus with a genome of 9,713 nt potentially encoding a polyprotein of 3,124 aa, and another predicted protein, PIPO, in the +2 reading-frame shift. Most of the functional motifs in the Hawaiian isolate were conserved among the genomes of isolates from one found in the Philippines and India. However, the A. purpurata isolate had an amino acid deletion in the Pl protein that was most similar to the Philippine isolate. Phylogenetic analysis of an eastern Pacific subpopulation that included A. purpurata was closest in genetic distance to a Southeast Asian subpopulation, suggesting frequent gene flow and supporting the hypothesis that the A. purpurata isolate arrived in Hawaii from Southeast Asia.

Partially resistant Cucurbita pepo showed late onset of the Zucchini yellow mosaic virus infection due to rapid activation of defense mechanisms as compared to susceptible cultivar

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) is an emerging viral pathogen in cucurbit-growing areas wordwide. Infection causes significant yield losses in several species of the family Cucurbitaceae. To identify proteins potentially involved with resistance toward infection by the severe ZYMV-H isolate, two Cucurbita pepo cultivars (Zelena susceptible and Jaguar partially resistant) were analyzed using a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteomic approach. Initial symptoms on leaves (clearing veins) developed 6-7 days post-inoculation (dpi) in the susceptible C. pepo cv. Zelena. In contrast, similar symptoms appeared on the leaves of partially resistant C. pepo cv. Jaguar only after 15 dpi. This finding was confirmed by immune-blot analysis which showed higher levels of viral proteins at 6 dpi in the susceptible cultivar. Leaf proteome analyses revealed 28 and 31 spots differentially abundant between cultivars at 6 and 15 dpi, respectively. The variance early in infection can be attributed to a rapid activation of proteins involved with redox homeostasis in the partially resistant cultivar. Changes in the proteome of the susceptible cultivar are related to the cytoskeleton and photosynthesis.

Comparative molecular epidemiology provides new insights into Zucchini yellow mosaic virus occurrence in France

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV, genus Potyvirus) causes important crop losses in cucurbits worldwide. In France, ZYMV epidemics are sporadic but occasionally very severe. This contrasts with Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV, genus Potyvirus) which causes regular and early epidemics. Factors influencing ZYMV epidemiology are still poorly understood. In order to gain new insights on the ecology and epidemiology of this virus, a 5-year multilocation trial was conducted in which ZYMV spread and populations were studied in each of the 20 plot/year combinations and compared with WMV. Search for ZYMV alternative hosts was conducted by testing weeds growing naturally around one plot and also by checking ZYMV natural infections in selected ornamental species. Although similar ZYMV populations were observed occasionally in the same plot in two successive years suggesting the occurrence of overwintering hosts nearby, only two Lamium amplexicaule plants were found to be infected by ZYMV of 3459 weed samples that were tested. The scarcity of ZYMV reservoirs contrasts with the frequent detection of WMV in the same samples. Since ZYMV and WMV have many aphid vectors in common and are transmitted with similar efficiencies, the differences observed in ZYMV and WMV reservoir abundances could be a major explanatory factor for the differences observed in the typology of ZYMV and WMV epidemics in France. Other potential ZYMV alternative hosts have been identified in ornamental species including begonia. Although possible in a few cases, exchanges of populations between different plots located from 500 m to 4 km apart seem uncommon. Therefore, the potential dissemination range of ZYMV by its aphid vectors seems to be rather limited in a fragmented landscape.

Intra-specific variability and biological relevance of P3N-PIPO protein length in potyviruses

BACKGROUND

Pipo was recently described as a new ORF encoded within the genome of the Potyviridae family members (PNAS 105:5897-5902, 2008). It is embedded within the P3 cistron and is translated in the +2 reading frame relative to the potyviral long ORF as the P3N-PIPO fusion protein. In this work, we first collected pipo nucleotide sequences available for different isolates of 48 Potyvirus species. Second, to determine the biological implications of variation in pipo length, we measured infectivity, viral accumulation, cell-to-cell and systemic movements for two Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) variants with pipo alleles of different length in three different susceptible host species, and tested for differences between the two variants.

RESULTS

In addition to inter-specific variation, there was high variation in the length of the PIPO protein among isolates within species (ranging from 1 to 89 amino acids). Furthermore, selection analyses on the P3 cistron did not account for the existence of stop codons in the pipo ORF, but showed that positive selection was significant in the overlapping region for Potato virus Y (PVY) and TuMV. In some cases, variability in length was associated with host species, geographic provenance and/or other strain features. We found significant empirical differences among the phenotypes associated with TuMV pipo alleles, though the magnitude and sign of the effects were host-dependent.

CONCLUSIONS

The combination of computational molecular evolution analyses and experiments stemming from these analyses provide clues about the selective pressures acting upon the different-length pipo alleles and show that variation in length may be maintained by host-driven selection.

Evaluation of Selected Cucurbitaceous Vegetables for Resistance to Zucchini yellow mosaic virus

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) causes considerable losses of cucurbitaceous vegetables grown nearly all over the world; indeed, the commonly planted cultivars are highly susceptible to ZYMV. In all, 3 cultivars of American and 8 of European summer squash (Cucurbita pepo), and 6 Japanese and 21 European cucumber lines (Cucumis sativus), including both slicing and pickling species, were selected for the evaluation of their resistance to the most virulent Czech strain, ZYMV-H (GenBank accession number DQ144054). Butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) 'Menina 15', Chinese slicing cucumber 'Taichung Mou Gua-1' (TMG-1), and watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) accession PI 595203 were included in the experiment, because they were reported to be resistant to ZYMV. The tested plants were mechanically inoculated by ZYMV-H and their resistance was assessed through a comparison of the relative virus protein concentrations and visual symptoms. Butternut squash Menina 15, Chinese slicing cucumber TMG-1, Japanese slicing cucumber breeds 'G22' and 'A192-18', and watermelon PI 595203 were evaluated as immune: the virus concentration in their leaves was zero, as verified by polymerase chain reaction. American summer squash 'Cougar' and Japanese slicing cucumber breeds 'A202-18', 'R10', and 'S93-18' were clearly resistant, because the virus multiplied at a low rate in these plants. The remaining tested cultivars were tolerant or susceptible to ZYMV.

Amino acid changes in P3, and not the overlapping pipo-encoded protein, determine virulence of soybean mosaic virus on functionally immune Rsv1-genotype soybean

A small open reading frame, termed 'pipo', is embedded in the P3 cistron of potyviruses. Currently, knowledge on pipo and its role(s) in the life cycle of potyviruses is limited. The P3 and helper-component proteinase (HC-Pro) cistrons of Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) harbour determinants affecting virulence on functionally immune Rsv1-genotype soybeans. Interestingly, a key virulence determinant of SMV on Rsv1-genotype soybeans (i.e. soybeans containing the Rsv1 resistance gene) that resides at polyprotein codon 947 overlaps both P3 and a pipo-encoded codon. This raises the question of whether PIPO or P3 is the virulence factor. To answer this question, the corresponding pipo of an avirulent and two virulent strains of SMV were studied by comparative genomics, followed by syntheses and analyses of site-directed mutants. Our data demonstrate that the virulence of SMV on Rsv1-genotype soybeans is affected by P3 and not the overlapping pipo-encoded protein.

Rapid evolutionary dynamics of zucchini yellow mosaic virus

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) is an economically important virus of cucurbit crops. However, little is known about the rate at which this virus has evolved within members of the family Cucurbitaceae, or the timescale of its epidemiological history. Herein, we present the first analysis of the evolutionary dynamics of ZYMV. Using a Bayesian coalescent approach we show that the coat protein of ZYMV has evolved at a mean rate of 5.0 x 10(-4) nucleotide substitutions per site, per year. Notably, this rate is equivalent to those observed in animal RNA viruses. Using the same approach we show that the lineages of ZYMV sampled here have an ancestry that dates back no more than 800 years, suggesting that human activities have played a central role in the dispersal of ZYMV. Finally, an analysis of phylogeographical structure provides strong evidence for the in situ evolution of ZYMV within individual countries.

An overlapping essential gene in the Potyviridae

The family Potyviridae includes >30% of known plant virus species, many of which are of great agricultural significance. These viruses have a positive sense RNA genome that is approximately 10 kb long and contains a single long ORF. The ORF is translated into a large polyprotein, which is cleaved into approximately 10 mature proteins. We report the discovery of a short ORF embedded within the P3 cistron of the polyprotein but translated in the +2 reading-frame. The ORF, termed pipo, is conserved and has a strong bioinformatic coding signature throughout the large and diverse Potyviridae family. Mutations that knock out expression of the PIPO protein in Turnip mosaic potyvirus but leave the polyprotein amino acid sequence unaltered are lethal to the virus. Immunoblotting with antisera raised against two nonoverlapping 14-aa antigens, derived from the PIPO amino acid sequence, reveals the expression of an approximately 25-kDa PIPO fusion product in planta. This is consistent with expression of PIPO as a P3-PIPO fusion product via ribosomal frameshifting or transcriptional slippage at a highly conserved G(1-2)A(6-7) motif at the 5' end of pipo. This discovery suggests that other short overlapping genes may remain hidden even in well studied virus genomes (as well as cellular organisms) and demonstrates the utility of the software package MLOGD as a tool for identifying such genes.