Watermelon mosaic virus II and zucchini yellow mosaic virus: cloning of 3'-terminal regions, nucleotide sequences, and phylogenetic comparisons

1 Molecular Biology Research, The Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007 and 2 Department of Plant Pathology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, Geneva, New York 14456, U.S.A. The 3'-terminal genomic regions of an isolate of watermelon mosaic virus II (WMVII) and a Florida isolate of zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV-F) have been cloned. The nucleotide sequence of the WMVII cDNA clone shows the presence of the large nuclear inclusion protein gene, the coat protein gene and 3' untranslated region. The nucleotide sequence of a ZYMV-F cDNA clone shows the presence of the coat protein gene and 3' untranslated region. Comparisons of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of these clones with those from other potyviruses show that WMVII and the soybean mosaic virus N strain are closely related, thus supporting their classification as different strains of the same virus. Our comparisons also indicate that ZYMV-F is a distinct potyvirus type and that its closest relative is WMVII. Phylogenetic analysis using the most-parsimonious branching arrangement derived from the alignment of coat protein gene sequences suggests the existence of two major potyvirus groupings. Received 2 January 1990; accepted 6 March 1990.