Identification, Molecular and Phylogenetic Analyses of Grapevine yellow speckle viroid-1 from the Northwest Region of Iran

Totally، 137 grapevines samples were collected from vineyards in East and West Azerbaijan and Ardabil provinces of Iran and tested for molecular characterization and study on the secondary structure of Grapevine yellow speckle viroid-1 (GYSVd-1). Total nucleic acid was extracted from leaves and first-strand cDNA synthesized using random hexamer primer. PCR fragments corresponding to full length GYSVd-1 were amplified by the use of specific primers and cloned in pGEM-T-easy for sequencing. Results showed that the Iranian isolates were 367-368 nt in length، and accordingly seven new GYSVd-1 variants were identified. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that variant 6 was identical to the type 1 of GYSVd-1، whereas the other six variants together with some other isolates and variants of GYSVd-1 formed a distinct clad، which named as GYSVd-1 type 4. These variants were most different from other isolates in variable and left terminal domains of their secondary structure. This is the first report of grapevine infection with GYSVd-1 from Ardabil and East Azarbaijan provinces.