Detection and identification of four vegetable fruit viruses in west and northwest of Iran

Field surveys were conducted to detect the incidence of viruses in major vegetable fruit growing areas in west and northwest of Iran. A total of 100 leaf samples from various vegetable fruit crops were analyzed for Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV) and Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) by RT-PCR using specific primers for each virus. Among the collected samples, the highest incidence was for CMV (46%), followed by ZYMV (35%), WMV (26%) and CGMMV (8%). Overall, 63.3%, 50%, 40%, 90%, 75% and 80% of green bean, cucumber, eggplant, squash, tomato and watermelon samples, respectively, were positive for at least one virus. CMV, ZYMV and WMV were identified in most regions, whereas CGMMV was found only in East Azerbaijan province. Mixed infections of two and three viruses in various combinations were detected in 30 and 8 samples, respectively. Restriction analysis with MspI (HpaII) on 13 PCR products of CMV coat protein revealed a previously described CMV subgroup I (S-I) specific profile (537 and 335 bp fragments) for the isolates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of WMV and ZYMV from watermelon, tomato, eggplant and green bean in the West and Northwest regions of Iran and first report of ZYMV infecting green bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in Iran.