Citrus Bright Spot Virus: A New Dichorhavirus, Transmitted by <i>Brevipalpus azores</i>, Causing Citrus Leprosis Disease in Brazil
2023
Camila Chabi-Jesus | Pedro Luis Ramos-González | Aline Daniele Tassi | Laura Rossetto Pereira | Marinês Bastianel | Douglas Lau | Maria Cristina Canale | Ricardo Harakava | Valdenice Moreira Novelli | Elliot Watanabe Kitajima | Juliana Freitas-Astúa
Citrus leprosis (CL) is the main viral disease affecting the Brazilian citriculture. Sweet orange (<i>Citrus sinensis</i> L. Osbeck) trees affected by CL were identified in small orchards in Southern Brazil. Rod-like particles of 40 × 100 nm and electron lucent viroplasm were observed in the nucleus of infected cells in symptomatic tissues. RNA extracts from three plants, which proved negative by RT-PCR for known CL-causing viruses, were analyzed by high throughput sequencing and Sanger sequencing after RT-PCR. The genomes of bi-segmented ss(−)RNA viruses, with ORFs in a typical organization of members of the genus <i>Dichorhavirus</i>, were recovered. These genomes shared 98–99% nt sequence identity among them but <73% with those of known dichorhavirids, a value below the threshold for new species demarcation within that genus. Phylogenetically, the three haplotypes of the new virus called citrus bright spot virus (CiBSV) are clustered with citrus leprosis virus N, which is a dichorhavirus transmitted by <i>Brevipalpus phoenicis</i> sensu stricto. In CiBSV-infected citrus plants, <i>B. papayensis</i> and <i>B. azores</i> were found, but the virus could only be transmitted to Arabidopsis plants by <i>B. azores.</i> The study provides the first evidence of the role of <i>B. azores</i> as a viral vector and supports the assignment of CiBSV to the tentative new species <i>Dichorhavirus australis</i>.
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