Distribution and phylogenetic analysis of Broad bean wilt virus-2 infecting pepper crops in Turkey

Broad bean wilt virus 2 (BBWV-2) is a new virus that is affecting a variety of economically important crops around the world and can be transmitted by different species of aphids in a non-persistent manner. The prevalence of BBWV-2 in pepper has grown quickly over the last decade. In this study, leaf samples from 350 total individual plants were collected from 9 locations in four regions in Turkey, and they were tested with RT-PCR. RT-PCR followed by Blast analyses of the 5′UTR region and partial sequence of RNA1 revealed that sixty plants out of 350 (17.1%) were positive for BBWV-2. Twenty-five selected BBWV-2 isolates showed 84–99% nucleotide identity to reference isolates previously reported in the GenBank while this was 94–100% to each other. •Broad Bean Wilt Virus 2 is a destructive pathogen in pepper-cultivated areas.•Having a wide host range, transmission by aphids, affecting its incidence and severity.•BBWV-1 and BBWV-2 are the two most important viruses in the genus Fabavirus.