First report of Hosta virus X infecting hosta plants in Ukraine

In September 2011, the leaf samples of hosta cultivar 'Sum and substance' were collected from the collection of Gryshko' National Botanical Garden in Kyiv. The leaves showed dark green streaking and puckering along the leaf veins. Transmission electron microscopy revealed the presence of filamentous viral particles 13 nm in diameter and 470-580 nm in length. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) analysis confirmed the presence of Hosta virus X (HVX). The sequencing of the complete genome revealed 99% identity to HVX37 and 97.5% identity to HVX-Kr. Notably, ORF4 initiation codon presented a non-conventional start codon (UUG) like it was previously identified in HVX-37.