Construction of an infectious full-length and eGFP-tagged cDNA clone of a chilli ringspot virus isolate from Yunnan province, China

Chilli ringspot virus (ChiRSV; genus Potyvirus) was one of several viruses previously detected in pepper samples with severe yellowing and curling symptoms growing in Wenshan, Yunan province, China. We now report the full-length sequence of ChiRSV-YN/Wenshan (MZ269480), which has 88.5-98.9% nucleotide sequence identity to other published ChiRSV isolates. A full-length cDNA infectious clone was constructed. This cDNA and an eGFP-tagged clone were infectious, leading to systemic symptoms in both Nicotiana benthamiana and Capsicum spp. Recombinant clones containing the P1 protein coding region of other ChiRSV isolates differed in their pathogenicity. Single infection by ChiRSV caused mild mosaic or leaf crinkling in Capsicum frutescens L. and Capsicum annuum L.