HOST-RANGE AND SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS OF AN ISOLATE OF POTATO-VIRUS-Y INDUCING VENOUS NECROSIS IN PEPPER

An isolate of potato virus Y (PVY), obtained from pepper (Capsicum ann uum L.) showing veinal necrosis and named PVY-nnp, was compared with o ther PVY isolates for host range. In addition, the 3' noncoding region (3'-NCR) and coat protein gene (CP-gene) of PVY-nnp were cloned, sequ enced, and aligned with the same regions of other PVY isolates. Biolog ical characterization showed that PVY-nnp differs from all other PVY s trains including isolates commonly infecting pepper. The nucleotide se quence comparison of PVY-nnp with other PVY isolates exhibited a homol ogy ranging from 85.5 to 99.7% for the 3'-NCR, and from 87.5 to 94% fo r the CP-gene. The deduced amino acid sequence of the CP had a similar ity ranging from 94.7 to 97.3%. These results indicate that PVY-nnp is a PVY isolate in spite of its peculiar biological properties.