Molecular variability of Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus in Shaanxi, China

Apple chlorotic leaf spot virus (ACLSV) is one of the latent viruses that occur in apple orchards worldwide but usually without visible symptoms. In 2010-2012, a total of 550 apple leaf samples from 12 different major apple-producing areas in Shaanxi, China, were tested by serological assay for ACLSV; the results revealed an infection level of 51.5 %. Because of the known variability in the putative amino acid sequences of the coat protein (CP), and thus the potential for non-detection by serological assay, the molecular variability of isolates of ACLSV collected in Shaanxi was analyzed using PCR and compared with isolates from the rest of the world. Sequences of 504 nt corresponding to 87 % of the CP gene of 12 isolates were acquired by RT-PCR and deposited in GenBank with the accession numbers KF134387-KF134298. Comparisons of the partial CP gene sequences of these 12 isolates as well as isolates previously reported in the world revealed the pairwise identities ranging from 68.9-99.8 % and 73.8-100 % at the nucleotide and amino acid level, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis based on these nucleotide sequences showed that the 72 isolates deposited in GenBank fell into three groups (P205, B6 and Ta Tao 5 Group). Our 12 ACLSV isolates were separated into the P205 and B6 groups, respectively. Multiple alignment analysis of the amino acid sequences of CP revealed that there was a combination of six amino acids at positions 40, 59, 75, 86, 130 and 184 in isolates from each group that could be used to distinguish among the three groups. Two recombination events were identified from all isolates by recombination analysis, and three ACLSV isolates collected in this study participated in these two events. Our results show that molecular variation was present in isolates of ACLSV collected in Shaanxi province and this may reflect introductions of the virus associated with different sources of germplasm.