Melon (Cucumis melo L.) plants in commercial fields in Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang exhibited stunting, deformation, interveinal chlorosis, and leaf mottling in the spring of 2008. In addition, adult and immature whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci biotype B) were present in these melon fields. Thirty-two symptomatic leaf samples were collected from these fields for further analysis (9 from Nanhui County in Shanghai, 11 from Fengxian County in Shanghai, 6 from Kunshan County of Jiangsu, and 6 from Jiashan County of Zhejiang). Total RNA was extracted from these samples along with asymptomatic control plants and screened for the presence of Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV) by using primers specific to genes encoding coat protein (2) and HSP70h (1) of CYSDV through reverse transcription (RT)-PCR methods. RNA was successfully extracted from 31 of 32 symptomatic samples. All 31 symptomatic leaf samples tested with coat protein primers were positive for CYSDV and yielded the expected fragment length of 394 bp. The RT-PCR products of the coat protein gene from all 31 isolates were cloned and found to be identical in sequence. Thus, only one was deposited in GenBank (No. GU189240). The submitted sequence of the amplified part of the coat protein gene was 99% identical to the sequence of coat protein gene of CYSDV from Jordan, France, and Florida (GenBank Accession Nos. DQ903107, AY204220, and EU596528, respectively) and 98% identical to that of an isolate from Spain (GenBank Accession No. AJ243000). Similarly, all 31 samples were also positive for CYSDV with the primers specific to HSP70h and yielded the expected fragment length of 175 bp. The RT-PCR products of the HSP70h gene from these isolates were also cloned and found to be identical in sequence. The sequence of the amplified portion of the HSP70h gene was found to be identical to the sequence of HSP70h of CYSDV deposited in GenBank (No. AJ439690.2). CYSDV was noticed in all three surveyed regions and the percentage of disease incidence was approximately 68% in all these regions. The occurrence of CYSDV has been previously reported in Europe (Spain and France), southern Asia (Iran and Jordan), North America (United States and Mexico), and other countries (1). To our knowledge, this is first report of CYSDV in China.
References: (1) Y.-W. Kuo et al. Plant Dis. 91:330, 2007. (2) J. E. Polston et al. Plant Dis. 92:1251, 2008.
