Between June 2006 and July 2007, ornamental plant samples were collected from four counties in California (Riverside, Sacramento, San Diego, and Santa Barbara) and tested for the presence of Angelonia flower break virus (AnFBV) using ELISA (Agdia, Inc., Elkhart, IN). Tissue samples were from propagation facilities or wholesale outlets except those from Riverside County, which were from retail stores. Thirteen positive samples were found in three varieties each of Angelonia and Nemesia spp. and seven varieties of Verbena spp., with at least one positive from each county. Foliar symptoms ranged from asymptomatic to a mild mosaic with distinct flower breaking in the Angelonia spp. Results were confirmed by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR of the coat protein gene (1) and the 1,172-bp amplicons were sequenced. Viral isolates from the three varieties of the Angelonia spp. had 98 to 99% nucleotide similarity and 99 to 100% amino acid identity to the Maryland strain of AnFBV (1; GenBank Accession No. DQ221212), with 91 to 92% nucleotide similarity and 96 to 97% amino acid identity to the Israel and Florida strains (GenBank Accession Nos. DQ223771 and DQ219415). All viral isolates from the Nemesia and Verbena spp. plants had nucleotide similarities of 96 to 98% and 98% amino acid identity to the Israel and Florida strains, with 91 to 92% nucleotide similarity to the Maryland strain. AnFBV has been previously reported in Angelonia and Verbena spp. among other hosts (1,2), but not in Nemesia spp. and not in California. This recently described carmovirus appears to be well established in the state in a variety of ornamental plant species.
References: (1) S. Adkins et al. Phytopathology 96:460, 2006. (2) F. Assis-Filho et al. Plant Dis. 90:1115, 2006.
