FIRST REPORT OF CRINUM ASIATICUM AS A NATURAL HOST OF TOMATO ZONATE SPOT VIRUS IN CHINA

Crinum asiaticum is a widely grown ornamental in Yun- nan Province (China). Tomato zonate spot virus (TZSV) has been reported to naturally infect solanaeous crops such as tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), chili (Capsicum annuum L.), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) and weeds including Bidens pilosa and Rumex dentatus (Dong et al., 2008, 2010). A survey was conducted in 2013 to identify virus diseases of vegetable crops in Kunming, (Yunnan Province). C. asiati- cum plants showing foliar ringspots and chlorotic spots were collected and investigated. Quasi-spherical and enveloped virions of 80-100 nm in diameter were observed in crude sap from three symptomatic plants by electron microscopy. Indi- rect ELISA of diseased samples showed a positive reaction with an antiserum raised against Tomato zonate spot virus (TZSV) that was produced in our laboratory. To confirm the presence of this virus, total RNA was extracted from ELISA- positive samples of C. asiaticum and used in RT-PCR with the specific primer pair tospoF (5’-ATGTCTAACGTCCG- GAGTTTAAC-3’) and tospoR (5’-TTGACAGAT- CATTGCTGCT-3’) designed to amplify the nucleocapsid gene (837 nt). Total RNA from TZSV-infected N. ben- thamiana plants and healthy C. asiaticum plants was used as positive and negative controls, respectively. The RT-PCR products were cloned and sequenced (GenBank accession No. KP684519). BLASTn analysis revealed that the TZSV isolate from C. asiaticum has the highest nucleotide sequence identity (99%) with TZSV isolate T-420 from Iris tectorum (KM452916). To our knowledge, it is the first report of TZSV in C. asiaticum in China.