Identification of the New Strain of Strawberry latent ringspot virus Isolated from Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.)

Three isolates of Strawberry latent ringspot virus (SLRSV) were obtained from black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.): SLRSV-G2, SLRSV-N31 and SLRSV-W16. The isolates were identified by the host range, particle morphology, serological properties and virus-specific reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The studies showed that two Polish isolates: SLRSV-N31 and SLRSV-W16 are almost identical, while the SLRSV-G2 isolate is remarkably different. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that SLRSV-G2 is also distinct from others reported to date. Pairwise comparisons of SLRSV-G2 with other isolates available in GenBank database showed only 76–79% nucleotide similarity. Therefore, SLRSV-G2 is proposed as a new strain of SLRSV.