title: Sequence diversity and potential recombination events in the coat protein gene of Apple stem pitting virus.
abstract: The variability of the Apple stem pitting virus (ASPV) coat protein (CP) gene was investigated. The CP gene of ten virus isolates from apple and pear trees was sequenced. Comparison of all sequenced virus isolates revealed high diversity of the CP gene (70.7-93.5% at the nucleotide level and 77.8-98.7% at the amino acid level). Additionally, one or two deletions in the N-terminal part of the coat protein gene of the studied virus isolates were identified. The ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous polymorphic sites indicated that purifying selection has acted to eliminate deleterious mutations in coding sites. Moreover, the evidences for recombination in analyzed sequences were provided. It is likely that recombination, along with selection, enhances the speed of elimination of deleterious mutations in ASPV, following the mutational deterministic hypothesis of Kondrashov.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Protection, Research Institute of Horticulture, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland. bkomorow@insad.pl
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Komorowska
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siedlecki
authors.forename: Szymon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaczanowski
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hasiów-Jaroszewska
authors.forename: Tadeusz
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Malinowski
mesh_terms: D036022:Capsid Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D052677:Flexiviridae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014644:Genetic Variation; D027845:Malus; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000821:virology; D031989:Pyrus; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D036022:Capsid Proteins; D012367:RNA, Viral