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First report of Apium virus Y in wild carrot (Daucus carota ssp. carota) in Spain

Bisola Mercy Babalola, Chantal Faure, Armelle Marais, Aurora Fraile, Fernando Garcia-Arenal, and Thierry Candresse. https://doi.org/10.1002/ndr2.1209. The Apium virus Y (ApVY) Potyvirus infects cultivated and wild Apiaceae species. It has been reported in Australia, Germany, Slovenia, New Zealand and the USA. In June 2021, ApVY was identified by Illumina sequencing of a wild carrot population sampled near Segovia (Spain). Presence of ApVY was confirmed by a specific two-step RT-PCR assay. This is the first reported natural ApVY infection in carrot and in Spain. Due to mixed infections, it was not possible to evaluate the pathogenicity of ApVY in carrot.

Apium virus Y (ApVY), a Potyvirus, infects cultivated and wild Apiaceae species, in which it may be asymptomatic or cause leaf symptoms and/or stunting. ApVY has been reported in Australia, Germany, Slovenia, New Zealand and the USA, in natural infection of celery, coriander, dill, parsley, Ammi majus and Conium maculatum. In June 2021, Illumina sequencing of a wild carrot population sampled near Segovia, Central Spain allowed the identification of ApVY in the form of two complete genomic sequences that are 95.1% identical and share 84.8-86.2% identity with other full-length ApVY genomic sequences available in GenBank. Presence of ApVY was confirmed by a specific two-step RT-PCR assay. This constitutes the first reported case of natural ApVY infection in wild carrot and the first report of the virus in Spain. Given the mixed infection status of the pool of plants sampled in the wild carrot population as evidenced by the HTS results, it is not possible to evaluate the pathogenicity of ApVY in this host.



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