GENETIC DIVERSITY AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF CUCUMBER MOSAIC VIRUS ISOLATES FROM CUCURBITS IN THE PUNJAB REGION OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), which is a highly destructive plant virus that affects nearly 1000 types of plants worldwide, causing significant economic losses in agricultural crops. The genus Cucumovirus is responsible for a variety of plant diseases, including aphids, fungi, viruses, and parasites. In this study, a total of 825 species and 118 genera are included. The objective of detecting and identifying the Pakistani isolates of Cucumber mosaic virus involves the development and optimization of a reliable diagnostic assay or protocol that can effectively detect the virus from infected plant samples. The ultimate goal is to establish the phylogenetic relationship of Pakistani isolates and sensitive and specific detection method that can be used to accurately identify the presence of Cucumber mosaic virus in Pakistani isolates. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) infection in cucurbit crops in the Lahore district of Pakistan. RNA isolated from infected plants was used in reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) to amplify about 600 bp DNA fragments specific to the virus. The amplified PCR products were purified using a commercial kit and then sequenced. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis were performed to compare the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the CP gene of the Pakistani CMV isolates with those of other CMV isolates in NCBI GenBank. The results showed that the Pakistani isolates were closely related to isolates from other countries and formed a separate group based on amino acid sequence analysis. The study demonstrates that CMV is a common problem in cucurbit crops in Pakistan, causing characteristic symptoms such as leaf deformation, reduced size, severe mosaic, and blistering. This research also concludes by stating the need for further research to understand economic impact and training farmer communities of Cucumber mosaic virus to manage disease through adaptation of resistant cultivars and vector population control in Pakistan.