A putative ormycovirus potentially associating with the yellow leaf disease of areca palm

Abstract

Abstract Yellow leaf disease (YLD) is a significant limiting factor in Areca palm cultivation, yet its etiology remains uncertain. In our investigation of YLD-affected Areca palm plants, transcriptome sequencing revealed an RNA contig with the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) of ormycoviruses as its top BLASTx matches. Subsequent gene cloning techniques yielded the full-length sequence of this RNA, potentially representing the genome or partial genome of a previously unknown ormycovirus, tentatively named areca palm yellow leaf-associated ormycovirus (APYLaOMV). RT-PCR detection found that APYLaOMV is present in more than 69% of YLD-affected areca palm samples but not in healthy ones, suggesting a potential link between APYLaOMV and YLD. Overall, these data may be valuable in understanding the etiology of YLD in Areca palms.