Molecular Characterization of Viruses Revealed by Japanese Flowering Cherry (Prunus serrulata) Virome Analysis

Japanese flowering cherry (Prunus serrulata Lindl.) is a deciduous tree with great decorative value due to its splendid spring bloom. Flowering cherry is native to East Asia and is cultivated in many other parts of the world. Two trees with virus-like symptoms on leaves, denoted by S14 and S27, were found in the town of Sochi, Russia. Virome analysis of these trees using high-throughput sequencing revealed the presence of several viruses, including little cherry virus 2 (LChV-2), American plum line pattern virus (APLPV), and cherry virus A (CVA) in the S14 tree, as well as CVA, prune dwarf virus (PDV), and alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) in the S27 tree. Nearly complete genomes of the detected viruses have been recovered and characterized. In the S14 tree, CVA was represented by three diverse genotypes sharing 80.8–83.5% nt identity. The complete APLPV genome from flowering cherry has been first sequenced. AMV was detected on Prunus species for the first time. This is the first report of LChV-2 from Russia. Thus, PDV, APLPV, AMV, LChV-2, and CVA were first found on P. serrulata from Russia, adding to the information on their genetic diversity, host range, and global geographical distribution.