Genomic analyses of a widespread blueberry virus in the United States

Daisy Stainton; Dan E V Villamor; Andrea Sierra Mejia; Ashish Srivastava; Dimitre Mollov; Robert R Martin; Ioannis E Tzanetakis

doi:10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199143

Genomic analyses of a widespread blueberry virus in the United States

Virus Res. 2023 Aug:333:199143. doi: 10.1016/j.virusres.2023.199143. Epub 2023 Jun 7.

Authors

Daisy Stainton¹, Dan E V Villamor¹, Andrea Sierra Mejia¹, Ashish Srivastava¹, Dimitre Mollov², Robert R Martin³, Ioannis E Tzanetakis⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas System, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
² USDA-ARS, Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit, 3420 NW Orchard Ave, Corvallis, OR 97330; Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.
³ Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA.
⁴ Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas System, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA. Electronic address: itzaneta@uark.edu.

Abstract

Screening of blueberry accessions using high throughput sequencing revealed the presence of a new virus. Genomic structure and sequence are similar to that of nectarine stem pitting associated virus (NSPaV), a member of the genus Luteovirus, family Tombusviridae. The full genome of the new luteovirus, tentatively named blueberry virus L (BlVL), was characterized and analyzed. Similar to NSPaV, BlVL does not contain readily identifiable movement proteins in any of the seven isolates sequenced. More than 600 samples collected from five states were screened and 79% were found infected, making BlVL the most widespread blueberry virus in the United States.

Keywords: Distribution; Genomics; Vaccinium.

MeSH terms

Blueberry Plants*
Genomics
Luteovirus*
Tombusviridae*
United States
Viruses*