Complete Genome Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of Jasmine Virus H (JaVH) Infecting Jasminum sambac in Türkiye

This study represents the first identification and complete genome characterization of Jasmine virus H (JaVH) infecting Jasminum sambac in Türkiye belongs to the genus Pelarspovirus, family Tombusviridae and was first reported in Jasminum sambac in China before it was found in other countries. This paper presents an initial disease outbreak and full genome characterization of JaVH in plants of the genus J. sambac with observed yellow mosaics and leaf deformation symptoms reported in İskenderun, Hatay Province, southern Turkey. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) was performed on the infected samples and the de novo assembly produced a complete genome of 3,867 nucleotides of virus. Genome annotation showed five open reading frames (ORFs) encoding for the replication related proteins, p27 and p87, two movement proteins (p7 and p9), and the coating protein p37, as expected with other members of pellarspovir . The analysis of the nucleotide revealed the maximum identity (91–93%) of the isolate with JaVH isolates described in China and the United States, which proved the identity of the Turkish isolate. Full-length genome phylogenetic analysis and MEGA-based analysis of the replicase and coat protein sequences placed the Turkish JaVH isolate in their well-substantiated clade with other JaVH isolates, separate to that of Jasmine mosaic-associated virus (JMaV) and Jasmine virus C (JaVC). This distinct genetic clustering to the point of classifying it as a separate JaVH isolate, as opposed to a separate species. This is the first case of JaVH to be reported in Turkey and adds to extant coverage of the wide geographic distribution of Pelarspovirus species in relation to jasmine infection across the globe.