Poster: Biology & Disease Mgmt: Virology
103-P
Comparative analyses of world-wide cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) isolates
T. PITMAN (1), B. Falk (1) (1) UC Davis, U.S.A.
CGMMV is a +ssRNA Tobamovirus that infects curcurbit crops. It is capable of contaminating seeds inside the seed coat, making it a problem with the increased globalization of seed trade. 2013 was the first report of this virus in North America, which prompted federal and state responses and quarantine procedures where it was detected. Subsequent finds in 2014 and 2015 occurred in California, suggesting this is a recurring problem with global seed movement. Our efforts focus on better detection methods in seed. Currently, industry standard for detection is ELISA, which relies on antibody recognition of coat protein. Industry participants have described isolates that are not detected with available ELISA kits, but are identified with molecular assays. We are working to improve detection methods for CGMMV by serological and molecular methods. To support those efforts we need a better understanding of the diversity of CGMMV isolates. We previously sequenced two California isolates and found them to share 90% sequence homology. GenBank has 197 accessions for CGMMV, of which 42 are full genome sequences. Of these, the majority are Asian in origin. Given that CGMMV was originally described in England and is endemic to Europe and the Middle East, we worked with collaborators to amass a collection of 35 isolates from regions where CGMMV is endemic. We used enriched virion samples for next generation sequencing, and bioinformatics to analyze the sequence information.