Detection and molecular characterization of some viruses on Cucurbitaceae plants growing in Hatay province by DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR methods

Aims: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the occurrence of cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV) and beet pseudo-yellows virus (BPYV) in cucumber, zucchini and melon plants grown in Hatay province by Double Antibody Sandwich-Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (DAS-ELISA) and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) methods, to analyse the phylogenetic relationships of identified isolates.Methods and Results: Totally 90 symptomatic and non-symptomatic cucumber, zucchini and melon samples were collected from Hatay province. DAS-ELISA and RT-PCR methods were used to investigate the presence of CCYV and RT-PCR method was used for CYSDV and BPYV. The most common symptoms observed are leaf shrinkage, deformation, leaf wrinkles, curling and vein clearing. According to the DAS-ELISA results, CCYC was not found in the samples tested. As a result of RT-PCR analysis, BPYV and CCYV could not found in the samples tested, but PCR amplicons of 364 bp amplifying the heat shock protein 70h (HSP70h) gene of CYSDV were obtained from 11 samples (9 zucchini, 2 melons). As a result of bidirectional sequence analysis of 10 CYSDV izolates, it was determined that the obtained nucleotide sequences were highly similar (99%) to that of the CYSDV isolates registered in the GeneBank. In this study, CYSDV was reported for the first time in the zucchini and melon plants growing in Hatay province.Conclusions: CYSDV was detected for the first time in samples collected from zucchini and melon plants in Hatay province. BPYV and CCYV could not be detected in any of the samples tested. The fact that 12.22% of the tested samples were infected with CYSDV highlights the need of using healthy plant materials.Significance and Impact of the Study: In this study, the presence of CYSDV was proven by RT-PCR analyses for the first time in zucchini and melon plants in Hatay province.