Prevalence and genetic structure of PPV-M in six European countries

Abstract

The prevalence of PPV-M, PPV-D and PPV-Rec strains has been evaluated in 6 European countries (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia). A total of 547 samples have been collected from peach, apricot and plum trees and were characterised directly by PCR-based typing procedures targeting two genomic regions located upstream and downstream the recombination breakpoint located in the Nib gene shared by all PPV-Rec isolates. PPV-M isolates were found predominant in 4 of the 6 countries whereas PPV-Rec was detected in all countries but one. The genetic diversity and structure of PPV-M populations in Europe were evaluated by sequencing 27 isolates coming from 8 countries. The existence of 2 sub-clusters within the PPV-M group has been evidenced. This structure is apparently correlated with the geographical origin of the isolates.