Characterization of two distinct Polish isolates of Pepino mosaic virus

In Poland in 2002 and 2005 two different isolates of Pepino mosaic virus signed PepMV-SW and PepMV-PK were obtained. Both isolates were compared on the basis of their symptomatology on a series of plant species. In addition, the isolates were characterized by the nucleotide sequence analysis of the triple gene block, coat protein and a part of the polymerase genes. The studies showed that the Polish isolates differ from each other and belong to two strains. PepMV-SW was highly similar to European isolates, showing extensive sequence identity, ca. 99%. Pairwise comparisons of PepMV-PK with other PepMV isolates from the GenBank database showed that the highest nucleotide sequence identity was with two isolates: Ch2 from Chile and US2 from the USA.