Archivio Journal of Plant Pathology

Abstract:

Citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV), a recently described member of the genus Mandarivirus, is associated with yellow vein clearing disease (CYVCD), a serious threat of lemon production of the world (Chen et al., 2014). The disease was first reported on its two main hosts, sour orange (Citrus aurantium) and lemon (C. limon), from Pakistan in 1988. Then it appeared in India, Turkey and China. In 2010 characteristic symptoms of the disease including leaf crinkling, vein clearing with corresponding watersoaked appearance of the lateral veins on the lower surface of the leaves, were first noticed on a sour orange seedling and a lemon tree in Mazandaran province of Iran. A large number of samples was collected from symptomatic trees of sour orange, Eureka lemon and Persian lime (C. latifolia) during surveys from citrus orchards of the North of Iran in 2016. RNA extractions by SDS-potassium acetate method (Bernad and Duran-Vila, 2006) were made from one isolate from each of these three hosts. A two-step RT-PCR was performed using Revert Aid Kit and PCR Master Mix (Fermentas) and CYVCV specific primer pair of coat protein gene (Chen et al., 2014). The resulting PCR products were sequenced directly, and multiple alignments revealed 96-98% nucleotide identity among the Iranian isolates (GenBank Accession No. KX902486 to KX902488) and also with the reference sequence of CYVCV (NC_026592), two sequences reported from Pakistan and five isolates from China. To our knowledge this is the first report of CYVCV in Iran and Persian lime as a susceptible host of the virus.