Detection and Molecular Variability of Fig Fleck‐Associated Virus and Fig Cryptic Virus in Iran

Abstract

Forty‐eight fig orchards were surveyed to determine the presence and incidence of Fig cryptic virus (FCV), Fig fleck‐associated virus (FFkaV), Fig leaf mottle‐associated virus 1 (FLMaV‐1), Fig leaf mottle‐associated virus 2 (FLMaV‐2) and Fig mosaic virus (FMV) in four provinces of northeast, northwest and central regions of Iran. A total of 197 leaf samples from commercial and outdoor fig gardens were collected in April and September 2012 and tested by reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Approximately 14.7% of the tested fig trees were infected by FCV, FFkaV and FMV with a peak of 18% in Tehran province. None of samples was found to be infected with FLMaV‐1 or FLMaV‐2. FFkaV was found in fig trees collected in all the four provinces, but no FCV infection was found in Semnan province, and FMV was just occurred in Markai and Tehran. Mixed infections of FCV with FFkaV and FMV were detected in 2.5% of the samples. The sequence of the CP fragment of six Iranian FCV isolates showed 97–99% nucleotide (nt) identity with the reference FCV isolate, while that of a RdRp and Gp fragments of nine FFkaV and two FMV Iranian isolates showed 87–91% nt and 89–90% identity with the reference isolates, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis grouped the FCV and FFkaV isolates in two distinct clusters, with the Iranian isolates included in both clusters. Results showed genetic diversity among Iranian viruses. Structure and diversity of FCV and FFkaV populations are discussed.

Genetic Structure and Molecular Variability Analysis of Citrus sudden death-associated virus Isolates from Infected Plants Grown in Brazil

“…In the current study, sequence analyses of five regions of the CSDaV genome representing almost 42% of the whole genome of 31 isolates, sampled from different hosts/plant tissues, showed a low genetic diversity. It is not a surprising finding because genetic stability has been considered as a rule in natural plant virus populations [23] and similar low genetic diversity was previously reported for many other RNA plant viruses [20,25,26,27,28,29,30,31]. It has been shown that systemic infections and other events such as host change and transmission can impose bottlenecks, the most common effects of genetic drift, which have been inferred from the low genetic diversity of plant virus populations [32,33] and which might be the reason for the low genetic diversity among the CSDaV isolates.…”

Novel Fig-Associated Viroid-Like RNAs Containing Hammerhead Ribozymes in Both Polarity Strands Identified by High-Throughput Sequencing

“…Edible fig ( Ficus carica L.) trees are known to be natural hosts of several viruses ( Elbeaino et al, 2010 , 2012 ; Laney et al, 2012 ; Ale-Agha and Rakhshandehroo, 2014 ; Minafra et al, 2017 ). Viroids of the family Pospiviroidae , including hop stunt viroid, citrus exocortis viroid, and a viroid resembling apple dimple fruit viroid, have also been reported in fig trees ( Yakoubi et al, 2007 ; Chiumenti et al, 2014 ).…”

Viruses Associated with Fig Mosaic Disease in Different Fig Varieties in Montenegro

“…These included fig mosaic virus (FMV; family Fimoviridae , genus Emaravirus ), fig fleck-associated virus (FFkaV; family Tymoviridae , genus Maculavirus ), fig leaf mottle-associated virus 1 (FLMaV-1; family Closteroviridae , genus Closterovirus ), fig leaf mottle-associated virus 2 (FLMaV-2; family Closteroviridae , genus Closterovirus ), fig mild mottle-associated virus (FMMaV; family Closteroviridae , genus Closterovirus ), fig latent virus 1 (FLV-1; family, Betaflexiviridae genus Trichovirus ), and hop stunt viroid (HSVd; family Pospiviroidae , genus Hostuviroid ). In Iran, based on a 2012 survey, approximately 14.7% of the tested fig trees were infected with fig cryptic virus (FCV; family Partitiviridae , genus Alphacryptovirus ), FFkaV and FMV ( Ale-Agha and Rakhshandehroo, 2014 ). In Saudi Arabia, Alhudaib (2012) noted that FMD is caused by FLMaV-1 and FMV.…”