Adero Joanne, Wokorach Godfrey, Stomeo Francesca, Yao Nasser, Machuka Eunice, Njuguna Joyce, Byarugaba Denis K, Kreuze Jan, Yencho G Craig, Otema Milton A, Yada Benard, Kitavi Mercy
National Crops Resources Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Organization, Kampala P.O. Box 7084, Uganda.
Biosciences Eastern and Central Africa, International Livestock Research Institute (BecA-ILRI) Hub, Nairobi P.O. Box 30709, Kenya.
Pathogens. 2024 Sep 26;13(10):833. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13100833.
Sweetpotato ( L.) is an essential food crop globally, especially for farmers facing resource limitations. Like other crops, sweetpotato cultivation faces significant production challenges due to viral infections. This study aimed to identify and characterize viruses affecting sweetpotato crops in Uganda, mostly those associated with sweetpotato virus disease (SPVD). Infected leaf samples were collected from farmers' fields in multiple districts spanning three regions in Uganda. MiSeq, a next-generation sequencing platform, was used to generate reads from the viral nucleic acid. The results revealed nine viruses infecting sweetpotato crops in Uganda, with most plants infected by multiple viral species. Sweet potato pakakuy and sweet potato symptomless virus_1 are reported in Uganda for the first time. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that some viruses have evolved to form new phylogroups, likely due to high mutations and recombination, particularly in the coat protein, P1 protein, cylindrical inclusion, and helper component proteinase regions of the potyvirus. The sweet potato virus C carried more codons under positive diversifying selection than the closely related sweet potato feathery mottle virus, particularly in the P1 gene. This study provides valuable insights into the viral species infecting sweetpotato crops, infection severity, and the evolution of sweet potato viruses in Uganda.
甘薯（Ipomoea batatas (L.)）是全球一种重要的粮食作物，对于面临资源限制的农民来说尤为如此。与其他作物一样，甘薯种植因病毒感染而面临重大生产挑战。本研究旨在鉴定和表征影响乌干达甘薯作物的病毒，主要是那些与甘薯病毒病（SPVD）相关的病毒。从乌干达三个地区多个县的农民田地中采集受感染的叶片样本。使用新一代测序平台MiSeq从病毒核酸中生成读数。结果显示有九种病毒感染乌干达的甘薯作物，大多数植株被多种病毒物种感染。甘薯帕卡库伊病毒和甘薯无症状病毒_1在乌干达首次被报道。系统发育分析表明，一些病毒已经进化形成新的系统发育群，这可能是由于高突变和重组，特别是在马铃薯Y病毒属病毒的外壳蛋白、P1蛋白、柱状内含体和辅助成分蛋白酶区域。与密切相关的甘薯羽状斑驳病毒相比，甘薯病毒C在正向多样化选择下携带更多密码子，特别是在P1基因中。本研究为乌干达感染甘薯作物的病毒种类、感染严重程度以及甘薯病毒的进化提供了有价值的见解。
