Abstract:
【Objective】 This study aimed to identify the viral pathogen causing leaf curling, vein clearing, and plant stunting for
Cucumis melo L
. in greenhouses of Beihai, Guangxi, sequence its whole genome, and conduct genetic evolution of the virus, so as to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and control of virus diseases in
Cucumis melo L
. in Guangxi. 【Method】
Cucumis melo L
. samples showing symptoms of leaf rugosity, vein clearing, and chlorosis were collected from greenhouses in Beihai. The identification of viruses and phylogenetic analysis of the samples were carried out by PCR detection, whole genome sequence amplification, recombination analysis, and genetic evolution relationship analysis. 【Result】 The target fragment of approximately 500 bp was amplified from the
Cucumis melo L
. samples by geminivirus degenerate primers (PA/PB). The purified PCR products were sequenced, and the obtained sequences showed a similarity of over 95.00% with each isolate of tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) in GenBank, indicating that the
Cucumis melo L
. samples were infected by the virus of
Begomovirus and Geminiviridae. The whole genome sequences of DNA-A and DNA-B of GXBH-TG were amplified using back-to-back primers ToLCNDV-AF/AR and ToLCNDV-BF/BR. The PCR products were purified, sequenced, and then assembled to obtain a DNA-A sequence with lengths of 2739 bp (GenBank accession No.:PX021751) and a DNA-B sequence with lengths of 2692 bp (GenBank accession No.:PX021752). DNA-A contained seven open reading frames (ORFs), encoding 7 proteins; DNA-B contained 2 ORFs, encoding 2 proteins. A 9 nt TAATATT/AC stem-loop structure was found in both the DNA-A and DNA-B genomes. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that the DNA-A of ToLCNDV GXBH-TG shared a high similarity of 99.89% with the DNA-A sequences of ToLCNDV isolates deposited in GenBank; DNA-A shared a similarity above 99.15%. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that DNA-A of ToLCNDV GXBH-TG was in a large branch with that of other ToLCNDV isolates, and in a small branch with that of ToLCNDV 8066 (host: cucumber), implying a close evolutionary relationship between the two isolates; DNA-B of oLCNDV GXBH-TG was in a small branch with that of ToLCNDV isolates from Guangdong Province, STSiG (host: luffa), YJSiG (host: luffa), STHL (host: cucurbit), STFQ (host: tomato), STDG (host: wax gourd), and STNG (host: pumpkin), indicating they shared a close relationship. 【Conclusion】 ToLCNDV is identified as the virus infecting
Cucumis melo L
. samples from Beihai, Guangxi and causing symptoms such as leaf rugosity, chlorosis, and vein clearing.