Partial molecular characterization of Iranian isolates of Potato leafroll virus

Potato leaf roll virus (PLRV), a species of Polerovirus gunes, causes one of the most important viral diseases in potato crop. Molecular characterizations of Iranian PLRV isolates have been studied using ORF0. Main potato cultivation areas in Azarbaijan, Ardabil, Isfahan, Khorasan, and Hamadan were visited and sampling conducted randomly and symptomatically. The samples were tested by DAS-ELISA method by using specific antibodies from Bioreba Co (Switzerland). ELISA results showed that on average, 9.6 % of the randomly collected samples were infected by PLRV, indicating wide distribution of PLRV in potato fields of Iran. Also, samples from Isfahan and Ardabil provinces showed highest and lowest infection with PLRV with 23.7% and 3.9%, respectively. Ten Iranian PLRV isolates have been selected and the ORF0 region of genome amplified by polymerase chain reaction using specific primers and sequenced. Comparing the nucleotide sequence alignment of 10 sequences obtained in this study with 23 other PLRV sequences showed 94.2 up to 100 % identity. Two Iranian isolates, Ar53 and Kh116 had the most identity with an isolate from Netherlands (Y07496). Phylogenetic analysis showed that PLRV isolates clustered in three groups which Iranian isolates fall in group with some European PLRV isolates.