Analysis of the complete sequences of two biologically distinct Zucchini yellow mosaic virus isolates further evidences the involvement of a single amino acid in the virus pathogenicity

Abstract

The complete genome sequences of two Slovak Zucchini yellow mosaic virus isolates (ZYMV-H and ZYMV-SE04T) were determined. These isolates differ significantly in their pathogenicity, producing either severe or very mild symptoms on susceptible cucurbit hosts. The viral genome of both isolates consisted of 9593 nucleotides in size, and contained an open reading frame encoding a single polyprotein of 3080 amino acids. Despite their different biological properties, an extremely high nucleotide identity could be noted (99.8%), resulting in differences of only 5 aa, located in the HC-Pro, P3, and NIb, respectively. In silico analysis including 5 additional fully-sequenced and phylogenetically closely-related isolates known to induce different symptoms in cucurbits was performed. This suggested that the key single mutation responsible for virus pathogenicity is likely located in the N-terminal part of P3, adjacent to the PIPO.