Determination of Zucchini Yellow Mosaic Virus and Watermelon Mosaic Virus Infections in Cucurbit Production Areas of Çanakkale Province from Türkiye

Abstract

Viral diseases are among the most significant challenges in protecting plants of the Cucurbitaceae family, with viruses from the Potyvirus genus, such as zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), causing up to 100% yield losses under favorable conditions. Despite the importance of these viruses, there have been no previous studies investigating potyvirus diseases in Cucurbitaceae production areas in Çanakkale province. Consequently, the status of these diseases in the region remains unknown. This study aims to address this gap by analyzing the presence of potyviruses in Cucurbitaceae production areas in Çanakkale. In the 2021 production year, a total of 137 samples exhibiting virus and virus-like symptoms were collected from various Cucurbitaceae production sites in Çanakkale province and its districts. The samples were tested using RT-PCR with primer pairs specific to WMV and ZYMV. From the infected samples, seven isolates were selected for further analysis, and the coat protein (CP) genes were amplified and sequenced. The results revealed that WMV was detected as a single infection in 78 samples, ZYMV in one sample, and mixed infections of ZYMV+WMV were found in 39 samples, indicating that WMV is notably prevalent in Çanakkale. Bioinformatics analyses demonstrated that the Turkish WMV and ZYMV isolates share more than 90% similarity with other isolates in both the local samples and the GenBank database. Phylogenetic analysis further revealed that Turkish WMV and ZYMV isolates are closely related to each other. This is the first study to reveal the presence and phylogenetic relationships of ZYMV and WMV in cucurbitaceous plants in Çanakkale province of Türkiye.

Keywords

• cucurbitaceae
• potyvirus
• rt-pcr
• sekanslama
• phylogenetic