Analysis of the Coat Protein Gene of Indian Strain of Apple stem grooving virus

A survey was undertaken in the temperate fruit growing regions of Himachal Pradesh (HP) and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). Apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), a Capillovirus, was detected in different cultivars of apple, nectarines, plum, cherry, quince and apricot by double antibody sandwich ELISA (DAS-ELISA). The coat protein (CP) gene sequence of an amplicon produced by RT-PCR, confirmed the association of ASGV in apple cultivar Starkrimson, collected from Himachal Pradesh. The CP of Indian ASGV isolate shared 100% sequence identity with a Brazilian isolate (AF438409). Sequence analysis by Recombination Detection Program (RDP2) indicated no recombination event for the Indian isolate. However, recombination was detected in Chinese, Korean and Citrus tatter leaf virus-Taiwan (CTLV) strains of ASGV. The study describes first report of ASGV infection in India and characterization of its CP gene.