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In Greece, lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) crops are mainly established with non-certified seeds of local landraces, implying high risks for seed transmitted diseases. During April and May of the 2007–2012 growing seasons, surveys were conducted in eight regions of Greece (Attiki, Evros, Fthiotida, Korinthos, Kozani, Larissa, Lefkada and Viotia) to monitor virus incidence in lentil fields. A total of 1216 lentil samples, from plants exhibiting symptoms suggestive of virus infection, were analyzed from 2007 to 2009, using tissue-blot immunoassays (TBIA). Pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV) overall incidence was 4.9%, followed by Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) (2.4%) and Bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) (1.0%). When 274 of the samples were tested for the presence of luteoviruses, 38.8% were infected with Bean leafroll virus (BLRV). Since BLRV was not identified in the majority of the samples collected from 2007 to 2009, representative symptomatic plants (360 samples) were collected in further surveys performed from 2010 to 2012 and tested by ELISA. Two viruses prevailed in those samples: BLRV (36.1%) was associated with stunting, yellowing, and reddening symptoms and Pea enation mosaic virus-1 (PEMV-1) (35.0%) was associated with mosaic and mottling symptoms. PSbMV (2.2%), AMV (2.2%), BYMV (3.9%) and CMV (2.8%) were also detected. When the molecular variability was analyzed for representative isolates, collected from the main Greek lentil production areas, five BLRV isolates showed 95% identity for the coat protein (CP) gene and 99% for the 3’ end region. Three Greek PEMV isolates co-clustered with an isolate from Germany when their CP sequence was compared with isolates with no mutation in the aphid transmission gene. Overall, limited genetic variability was detected among Greek isolates of BLRV and PEMV.

Citrus tristeza virus (CTV), the most destructive virus of citrus, is a quarantine pathogen in Greece. Since 2000, several accidental imports of infected propagation material have been detected in the country, and while eradication measures were applied, a few disease foci still remain. CTV isolates were collected from Chania (Crete) and the “lemonwood” of Poros (Peloponnese), and their genetic variability was studied using single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). One previously characterized isolate from Argolida grafted on a Mexican lime (GR3) and two Italian isolates from Calamondin were also included in the study. ELISA and RT-PCR tests confirmed CTV presence, and SSCP analysis of the virus amplified coat protein (CP) gene was used to separate either distinct virus isolates for cloning the CP gene or variants (haplotypes) for sequencing. Analyses showed that selected variants of four representative isolates clustered into three of the seven defined phylogenetic groups: groups 3b and 5 (severe isolates) and group M (mild isolates). The prevalent haplotypes detected in the CTV from lemonwood of Poros (GR9) were in group 3b, confirming previous results. However, one sequence variant was identified as a recombinant between haplotypes from groups 3b and 5. Variants of these two groups were also detected in the Italian Calamondin isolate. In the grafted Mexican lime isolate (GR3) from Argolida, only one haplotype was found which belonged to group M, while in the field isolate from Chania (GR6) the only haplotype detected was in group 5. This is the first report of variants of group 5 in Greece, suggesting an unknown virus introduction. The prevalence of severe isolates in the area is of particular concern, and implications for the future of the CTV epidemics are discussed.