Lucerne transient streak virus; a Recently Detected Virus Infecting Alfafa (Medicago sativa) in Central Saudi Arabia.
A survey was conducted to determine the status ofLucerne transient streak virus(LTSV) in three high-yielding alfalfa regions in central Saudi Arabia (Riyadh, Qassim, and Hail) during 2014. Three hundred and eight symptomatic alfalfa, and sevenSonchus oleraceussamples were collected. DAS-ELISA indicated that 59 of these samples were positive to LTSV. Two isolates of LTSV from each region were selected for molecular studies. RT-PCR confirmed the presence of LTSV in the selected samples using a specific primer pair. Percentage identity and homology tree comparisons revealed that all Saudi isolates were more closely related to each other but also closely related to the Canadian isolate-JQ782213 (97.1-97.6%) and the New Zealand isolate-U31286 (95.8-97.1%). Comparing Saudi isolates of LTSV with ten other sobemoviruses based on the coat protein gene sequences confirmed the distant relationship between them. Eleven out of fourteen plant species used in host range study were positive to LTSV. This is the first time to document thatTrifolium alexandrinum,Nicotiana occidentalis,Chenopodium glaucum, andLathyrus sativusare new host plant species for LTSV and thatN. occidentalisbeing a good propagative host for it.
Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Ahmed
A
Raza
Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Ibrahim M
IM
Al-Shahwan
Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Omer A
OA
Abdalla
Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed A
MA
Al-Saleh
Department of Plant Protection, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Mahmoud A
MA
Amer
Lucerne transient streak virus; Saudi Arabia; alfalfa