The complete nucleotide sequences of bean common mosaic necrosis virus strains NL-5, NL-8 and TN-1.

Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV) and bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) belong to the genus Potyvirus and are probably the most economically important viruses affecting common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Of the two viruses, BCMNV has been the most important in common bean production in North America, East Africa and Europe due to significant yield losses incurred from infected fields [10]. BCMV and BCMNV are transmitted in a non-persistent manner by several aphid species. All known strains of each virus can be highly seed-transmitted in bean and are distributed worldwide, in large part as a result of movement of contaminated seed [4, 5]. Drijfhout [4] originally separated the two viruses and their associated strains into eight different pathogroups based on host reaction to infection under specific temperature regimes. Strains NL-5 and NL-3 from Africa were originally assigned to the BCMV pathogroup VI by Drijfhout [4], and NL-8 was assigned to pathogroup III according to host responses in 12 different common bean host groups. The TN-1 strain from Tanzania was later assigned to pathogroup VI by Silbernagel [12]. Prior to 1992, all strains of BCMNV were designated as BCMV, at which time Vetten et al. [14] designated stains NL-3, NL-5 and NL-8 as serogroup A (BCMNV). All other known strains were assigned to serogroup B (BCMV) based on serological reactions to two highly specific monoclonal antibodies, and this was further supported by molecular analysis and ultrastructural comparisons [14]. Currently, several isolates of strain NL-3 have been sequenced and are available in GenBank; however, the sequences of strains NL-5, NL-8 and TN-1 are unavailable. Therefore, we report here the complete genome sequences of these three strains of BCMNV. Common bean seeds (variety ‘Dubbele Witte’) infected with NL-5, NL-8 and TN-1, respectively, were germinated in pots containing a mixture of peat moss and perlite (Sun Gro Horticulture Canada Ltd.) in the greenhouse, and plants were observed for symptoms. Tissues from symptomatic seedlings were evaluated for infection with BCMNV by direct ELISA using monoclonal antibodies specific for serogroup A, and also to serogroup B [11] to verify that there was no contamination with any strain of BCMV. Total nucleic acids were extracted from plant tissues, and cDNA was produced by reverse transcription using MMLV reverse transcriptase (Promega Corp., Madison, WI). Thermocycling parameters were optimized, and a final profile was employed that consisted of a single cycle of 2 min at 94 C; 25 cycles of 30 s at 94 C, 30 s at 50 C, and 3 min at 72 C; and a final extension for 7 min at 72 C. The initial reactions included oligo-dT24 as the reverse primer and a degenerate forward primer, 5’-GAA YAG CAA TGC NAT AG-3’, that produced a fragment approximately 3425 bp in length. The degenerate primer begins at nucleotide 6206, located in the NIa protein region. Subsequent reactions to complete the genome sequence were carried out using custom primer combinations based on the partial nucleotide sequence data obtained. The 5’-proximal region of the genomic sequence R. C. Larsen (&) USDA-ARS, 24106 N. Bunn Rd., Prosser, WA 99350, USA e-mail: richard.larsen@ars.usda.gov