Characterization and Sequence Analysis of a Lily Isolate of Cucumber mosaic virus from Lithium tsingtauense

A new isolate of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), identified as Li-CMV was isolated from a diseased Korean native lily (Lithium tsingtauense Gilg). Biological and serological properties of Li-CMV were characterized, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, restriction enzyme profiling of RT-PCR products, and nucleotide sequence analysis of RNA3 of the virus were performed in this study. Remarkable differences in symptoms between Li-CMV and ordinary CMV strains were found in tobacco plants and Datura stramonium. Li-CMV-infected tobacco plants (cv. Xanthi-nc and cv. Samsun) induced chlorotic ringspots on uninoculated upper leaves, and the symptom expression was delayed or faint whereas, ordinary CMV strains induced green mosaic symptoms on the plant. Systemic infections were observed on Nicotiana benthamiana with severe mosaic symptom. Restriction mapping analysis of RT-PCR products using MspI showed that Li-CMV belonged to CMV subgroup I. A full-length CDNA copy of RNA3 for the virus was amplified by RT-PCR, cloned, and its complete nucleotide sequence was determined. The RNA3 of Li-CMV was 2, 232 nucleotides long, and consisted of two open reading frames of 843 and 657 bases encoding 3a protein (movement protein) and coat protein, respectively. Results of this study indicate that Li-CMV is a novel strain and belongs to subgroup I of CMV in the genus Cucumovirus.