Nucleotide sequences of the coat protein gene of potyviruses infecting Ornithogalum thyrsoides

Species of three viral genera infecting Ormthogalum thyrsoides plants showing mosaic symptoms were identified using RT-PCR and degenerate universal primers for each viral genus. The DNA fragments obtained encoded the coat protein (CP) gene and were sequenced. The plants were found to be infected with one or other of three potyvirus species, one of them was Ornithogalum mosaic virus (OrMV). The other two viruses were previously unrecorded and were named Ornithogalum virus 2 (OV-2) and 3 (OV-3). Direct comparison and phylogenetic analysis with published OrMV isolates revealed that the CP of the three OrMV-like clones were more similar to Pterostylis virus Y (PtVY) than to OrMV. No carlavirus or potexvirus was isolated.