Determination of prevalence and serological, molecular and biological characterization of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) problem on pepper growing in Antalya

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and serological, molecular and biological charachterization of Cucumber mosaic virus and Tomato spotted wilt virus that cause infections in pepper plants growing in greenhouses and open fields during vegetation period of 2015 in Antalya province including Kumluca, Demre, Serik and Aksu districts. 62 samples from Kumluca, 42 samples from Demre, 26 samples from Serik and 18 samples from Aksu were collected from plants having virus-like symptoms. Out of collected 148 pepper samples 11 (%7.34) described as CMV and 53 (%35.81) as TSWV as a result of DAS-ELISA test. After the evaluation of the results from serological tests, biological assays were carried out by the selected virus isolates. Some regions on RNA 1 and RNA 3 of CMV; S RNA, M RNA and L RNA of TSWV of DAS-ELISA positive samples were amplifed by RT-PCR with specific primers. Similarity rates of different regions of CMV isolate varied between %90-96 identity with other isolates and TSWV isolate varied between %92-98. TSWV isolate showed identity varied between %92-97 with Tsw resistance breaking isolates from Capsicum plants in Turkey, Italy and Spain. Keywords: Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), DAS-ELISA, RT-PCR