شناسائی گیاه هندوانه به عنوان میزبان جدید ویروس زردی شته‌زاد هندوانه ابوجهل‌ در ایران

Plant viruses of Solemoviridae family consist of four genera: Sobemovirus, Polemovirus, Enamovirus and Polerovirus. The genome is composed of a single-stranded positive RNA that consists of five to six overlapping open reading frames (ORFs) and some of them are translated from subgenomic RNAs. A number of species of the mentioned genera cause infection in cucurbit plants. Bitter apple aphid-borne yellows virus (BaABYV) of the Polerovirus genus is one of these viruses that was reported for the first time in the world from Iran by Ghorani et al. (2024). Due to the wide and diverse cultivation of cucurbit plants in the south of Kerman province, investigations of watermelon fields were conducted during the years 2023-2024 in order to detect BaABYV in Jiroft, Fariyab, Anbar Abad and Block regions. The number of 119 samples collected in different seasons from various types of watermelons had symptoms of yellowing along with malformation of leaves and also vein banding with swollen veins. In order to detect BaABYV, total RNA was extracted from the tissue of the collected leaves using Pars Tous Company kit and used in reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with specific primers. Out of 119 samples of plants with symptoms tested by RT-PCR, in ten cases the band of 939 bp containing a region of p1-p2 and p3 genes was amplified and sent for sequencing. These samples includes one watermelon, Crimson-Suite variety (Fariyab region), and nine Bitter apple plants (Anbaraabad region). Considering the economic importance of cucurbit plants in Iran and especially in Kerman province, the presence of BaABYV leads to a decrease in the yield of the product. Therefore, development of viral disease management programs in this province should be considered. Additional investigations to determine other hosts of this virus and greenhouse studies are underway. This study is the first report of watermelon plant as a new host of BaABYV in Iran.