Detection of watermelon mosaic virus (Watermelon mosaic potyvirus, WMV), biological and molecular characterization in Diyarbakir and its surroundings

This research was carried out with the aim of detecting and characterizing Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), which causes disease in watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), has an important place among vegetable species, and to investigate resistance of Diyarbakır local watermelon population to WMV. During the surveys conducted around Diyarbakır, symptoms as such mosaic, chlorosis, leaf deformation and stunting were observed in watermelons and melons. Symptomatic plant samples were collected coding and tested against WMV, CMV, ZYMV, PRSV, MNSV, CABY and SqMV by DAS-ELISA. The samples found contaminated with WMV in the samples were tested with two different primer pairs specific to WMV by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Samples giving positive results for WMV were also inoculated into indicator plants by mechanical inoculation and biological and molecular features of WMV isolates were revealed. DNA sequences were obtained from RT-PCR products of WMV-infected samples, as a result of phylogenetic analysis based on DNA sequences, the phylogenetic relation of WMV detected in Diyarbakır and its affinity with other isolates found in the world was investigated and it was revealed that it was close to the WMV-Syria isolate.