Biological, serological and molecular characterization of three isolates of Citrus tristeza closterovirus introduced into Morocco

The biological, serological and genomic diversity of three Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) isolates from various geographical regions was studied: isolate P1 from lemon cv. 'Meyer' in a field near Marrakech (MA) in 1983, and isolates P2 and R1 detected in imported Spanish clementine germplasm by the Moroccan NPPO in 1998 and 2000. P1 induced severe vein clearing on Mexican lime and grapefruit, mild stem pitting on Mexican lime and moderate stem pitting on grapefruit. P2 and R1 only induced mild vein clearing on Mexican lime and caused no stem pitting or other symptoms on indicator plants used as controls. Only isolate P1 reacted with monoclonal antibody MCA-13, whereas all isolates reacted positively with the 3DF1+3CA5 mixture. The Moroccan clones P1–3 and P1–5, and all other severe isolates obtained from GenBank, showed a phenylalanine at amino acid position 124 of their coat protein sequences. This epitope confers MCA13 reactivity. The Spanish clones had tyrosine instead at this position. The deduced amino-acid sequence of coat protein of P1 clones clusters close to severe strains CB3–104 and FL7, respectively from Brazil and USA (Florida) (Group 5), whereas the sequences from P2 and R1 cluster close to typical strains from Portugal 25–120 and USA (Florida) T30 (Group M). The three techniques for distinguishing CTV isolates were clearly correlated.