Biological variability of zucchini yellow mosaic virus in Serbia

Abstract

Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) has become an important pathogen of cucurbits over the past 20 years. In our country, this virus also causes significant losses, especially in oil pumpkin production. Although ZYMV variability has been extensively studied worldwide by biological and molecular characterization, such information is still limited for the European region. Herein, we present the first analysis of phenotypic variations of ZYMV isolates sampled from oil pumpkin cv. Olinka from different locations in Serbia during 2008. Twelve isolates were obtained by mechanical inoculation on the C. pepo hybrid Ezra F1, and four of them were chosen for further detailed biological study. These investigated isolates exhibited different phenotypical features and thus represented different variants, concerning their host range, and type and severity of symptoms. A previously developed primer pair, ZYMV CPfwd/CPrev, was tested to determine its suitability for detection of Serbian ZYMV isolates. Amplification of Serbian ZYMV isolates of different origin, in single and mixed infection, resulted in one distinctive band. The used primer pair proved to be useful not only for routine molecular detection, but also for further molecular characterization of Serbian ZYMV isolates because it amplifies the hypervariable genomic region of ZYMV. The result obtained in this study is a contribution to investigation of genetic diversity of Serbian ZYMV isolates and their molecular relationship with ZYMV isolates from other parts of the world.