Detection and Molecular Characterization of Pepper mild mottle virus in China

Sweet pepper (Capsicum frutescens) is an important summer and winter vegetable throughout China. Plants showing fruit deformation and mosaic symptoms were frequently observed in several sweet pepper fields and greenhouses during a recent survey. Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) was found in 56 samples (total 165 samples collected from Beijing, Baoding and Huinong) by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA). The complete nucleotide sequence of Chinese isolate of PMMoV (PMMoV-CN) was determined and compared with the sequence of other Tobamoviruses. This is the first report of the complete nucleotide sequence and analysis of genome organization for PMMoV isolated in China