For the first time, an isolate of the dichorhavirus orchid fleck virus (OFV, family Rhabdoviridae) was found infecting an orchid plant in Mexico. The infected sample of Epidendrum veroscriptum was collected in a nursery in Lagunillas, municipality of Zihuateutla, Edo. Puebla. Mites gathered on this plant were analyzed by light and scanning electron microscopy, which consistently indicated the presence of adults of the species Brevipalpus californicus, the common vector of OFV. Viral identification was based on symptoms, cytopathology, and reverse transcriptase-PCR/sequencing of genome fragments of the RNA1 and 2 molecules. Since isolates of OFV causing citrus leprosis have been previously detected in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Querétaro, and Jalisco, we promote a pertinent discussion and thought-provoking questions regarding the epidemiology and putative evolution of OFV.
Keywords: Brevipalpus californicus mites; Citrus leprosis; Cytopathology; Dichorhavirus; Epidendrum veroscriptum; Tenuipalpid mites.
© Indian Virological Society 2021.