Identification of Reassortment of <i>Orthotospovirus citrullomaculosi</i> in Jiangxi Province, China.

ABSTRACT: Watermelon silver mottle virus (WSMoV) is a thrips-transmitted Orthotospovirus that severely impacts cucurbits production across Asia. Although previous diversity studies focused on the nucleocapsid (N) gene, genome-level evolutionary analyses are lacking. In 2023 and 2024, symptomatic watermelon in Jiangxi Province, China, was analyzed by RT-PCR and high-throughput sequencing, yielding complete genomes of two WSMoV isolates, FZNC and THBC. Multiple-sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the complete sequences of L, M, and S RNAs defined two phylogenetic clades (O and N). However, the Jiangxi isolates clustered in different clades for the L segment versus the M and S segments, suggesting a potential reassortment event. This conclusion was confirmed by RDP4 and RT-PCR

SUBMITTER: Peng B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12656826 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature