Authors
Jennifer Kraus,
Stephanie Cleveland, and
Melodie L. Putnam, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331;
Karen E. Keller and
Robert R. Martin, Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture--Agricultural Research Service, Corvallis, OR 97330; and
Ioannis E. Tzanetakis, Department of Plant Pathology and Cell and Molecular Biology Program, Division of Agriculture, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville 72701
ABSTRACTVerbena ‘Taylortown Red’ plants showed virus-like mottling symptoms. Virus purifications disclosed the presence of elongated and spherical particles, evidence of mixed virus infections, whereas double-stranded RNA analysis revealed the presence of several bands absent in healthy plants. After shotgun cloning, three viruses were identified in ‘Taylortown Red’: Broad bean wilt virus-1, Coleus vein necrosis virus, and a previously undescribed potyvirus. Given the importance of verbena to the ornamental industry, we studied the viruses found in ‘Taylortown Red’ and, in this article, we present our findings on the new potyvirus, provisionally named Verbena virus Y (VVY). VVY belongs to the Potato virus Y subgroup in the genus Potyvirus, has solanaceous plants, including potato, as alternative hosts, and can be transmitted by a ubiquitous pest in the ornamental industry, the green peach aphid.
