Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus: natural hosts and genome characterization of an isolate in eastern and southern Iran

Chickpea chlorotic dwarf virus (CpCDV) (Mastrevirus, Geminiviridae) has a wide natural host range. Despite of possessing the potential loss, until now the virus has not been studied in eastern and southern Iran. In this research, natural leguminous hosts of CpCDV in Kerman, Razavi Khorasan and Fars provinces were studied and the full-length genome of a chickpea isolate from Rabor (Kerman province) was characterized. Samples were collected from leguminous plants in different regions of the three aforementioned provinces and the CpCDV infection was tested in PCR. Results showed that leguminous plants including pulse, vegetables, foliage and wild species have been infected with the virus. The full-length genome of the Rabor isolate of CpCDV was sequenced and the resulted sequence was compared with the sequences of similar isolates available in the GenBank. Furthermore, the infectious clone of CpCDV was constructed and agroinoculated into some plants. Thus, the pathogenesis of the virus was demonstrated. Collectively, the results of this study indicated that CpCDV has a wide natural host range in the family Fabaceae. Fenugreek, common sainfoin, alfalfa and sophora are reported as the new hosts of the virus in Iran.