Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Turnip mosaic virus on Saffron (Crocus sativus) in Iran

Turnip mosaic virus is a member of the genus Potyvirus in the family Potyviridae and has the broadest host range in the family. In order to detect and characterize local isolates of TuMV, 175 saffron samples were collected from Birjand, Khosf and Ghaen in South Khorasan between October and November 2016. Infections with TuMV were detected by ELISA in 10.85 percent of samples. Total RNA was extracted and subjected to RT-PCR with the virus coat protein (CP) specific primers. As a result, full-length CP gene (980 bp) was amplified from nine samples and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of these isolates and 30 GenBank TuMV isolates showed that six Iranian isolates fell in Asian BR group with other isolates from Iran, China and Turkey. Three Iranian isolates fell in World B group with the isolates from Canada and new Zealand. Homology matrix showed the highest similarity between SKK10 and IRNTT3 and the lowest between SKK10and AB093598 from Italy (98.96 and 87.2%, respectively). The phylogenetic analysis showed that TuMV isolates from saffron plant in Iran were classified in different groups; therefore, they may have derived from different ancestors. This is the first investigation of TuMV on saffron in Iran .