Novel viruses associated with plants of the family Amaryllidaceae in South Africa

Abstract

Nineteen samples from members of the plant genera Agapanthus, Clivia, Hippeastrum, and Scadoxus were collected from gardens in the Gauteng and Western Cape provinces of South Africa. The plants displayed highly variable symptoms of viral disease, including chlorosis, necrosis, streaking, and ringspot. RNAtag-seq was used to characterize the associated viral populations. Plants of the genus Agapanthus were found to be associated with three novel viruses from the families Caulimoviridae, Closteroviridae, and Betaflexiviridae; plants of the genus Clivia were associated with novel members of the families Potyviridae and Betaflexiviridae; and plants of the genus Scadoxus were associated with a novel member of the family Tospoviridae. Nerine latent virus was associated with plants of the genera Agapanthus, Clivia, and Hippeastrum, while hippeastrum mosaic virus was associated exclusively with a Hippeastrum cultivar.