Journal of Plant Pathology Archive

Abstract:

Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 (GLRaV-3) is one of the agents responsible for leafroll disease of cultivated grapevines. To secure information on the molecular variability of GLRaV-3 isolates from central Europe, a 3,477 nucleotide long genome fragment coding for the end of a 55kDa protein, the complete capsid protein (CP), the minor CP (CPm), a 21kDa protein, and the N-terminal part of the p20A protein was sequenced from an atypical Slovak viral isolate, inducing no leafroll symptoms on the original Vitis vinifera host. In the sequenced ca. 3.5 kb region, the nucleotide identities with previously characterized isolates from different parts of the world ranged from 89.4 (Group 3 isolates) to 99.5% (Group 1 isolates). The Slovak SK04 isolate clustered within the largest Group 1, although in a slightly separated branch. Vegetative propagation by infected cuttings did not lead to changes of the dominant GLRaV-3 sequence, determined from the mother plant, when compared with the sequences obtained from the newly established 5-year-old self-rooted plants, indicating the high genetic stability of the SK04 viral population.