Importance and molecular properties of Cucumber Mosaic Virus in cucurbit fields of Jahrom, Iran

The Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) is a worldwide distributed Cucumovirus, and one of the important viruses of cucurbits and other agricultural crops, which causes a significant reduction of yield. This study was done to determine some information about the distribution, importance, and molecular characteristics of CMV in cucurbitaceous fields of the Jahrom area.

147 plant samples suspected of CMV symptoms were collected from leaves of different varieties of cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, and melons from various farms of cucurbits and cucumber greenhouses of the Jahrom area and were investigated using DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR methods. The PCR products of two-isolates were sequenced from the Ghotbabad and Hormoj villages. These isolates sequences were compared with 19 selected sequences of NCBI. Using Clustal W and Mega6 software, the phylogenetic tree was drawn via the Neighbor-Joining method.

59 samples were detected as CMV infected by DAS-ELISA test. The RT-PCR reaction confirmed the infection. Sequences analysis showed that the two isolates of CMV-JS1 and CMV-JS2 from the Jahrom area with the isolates of M21464.1, AJ242585, AJ866272.1, and L40953.1, respectively from Australia, China, India, and South Africa are located in an individual subgroup.

The results of this study showed that there where a significant infection in cucurbit fields of the Jahrom area and may cause significant yield losses. Since the CMV has a wide host range and is transmitted by aphids, hence it is recommended to control weeds as well as vector aphids.