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A novel virus was identified in aconite (Aconitum carmichaelii Debx.) in China by high-throughput sequencing (HTS) and tentatively named "aconite virus A" (AcVA). The genomic RNA of AcVA consists of 8,844 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) at the 3′ end. Analysis of the genomic organization of AcVA indicated that it possesses a genomic structure that is typical of carlaviruses and contains six putative open reading frames (ORFs). Pairwise analysis revealed that the replicase and coat protein of AcVA share the highest amino acid sequence identity (43.78% and 57.01%) with those of coleus vein necrosis virus (CVNV) and butterbur mosaic virus (ButMV), respectively. Based on the current classification criteria for carlaviruses, AcVA should be considered a distinct member of the genus Carlavirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In July 2012, symptoms of irregular mosaic stripe and mottle were observed on maize leaves in field in Beijing, China. The causal pathogen was identified to be Cucumber mosaic virus ( CMV) based upon reverse transcription- PCR, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Western blotting and fulfilment of Koch's postulates. The isolate was named ZMBJ- CMV. Full sequence of ZMBJ- CMV RNA3 was determined, and it had the highest identity to that of strain K- CMV (95.03%) and SD- CMV (94.96%). Phylogenetic analysis revealed ZMBJ- CMV clustered with K- CMV and SD- CMV in subgroup IB. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the natural infection and phylogenetic analysis of CMV on maize in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) is an economically important vegetable crop that is widely cultivated in the tropics for its nutritional properties. There are concerns, though, that in China, commercial okra production is at risk from an emerging leaf blight disease, that has been recently observed in Fujian Province. Fungi were isolated from diseased okra leaves collected in 2016 and 89 fungal isolates were tentatively identified as Choanephora cucurbitarum based on cultural and sporangia characters. DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and the D1/D2 region of the large subunit (LSU) of the rRNA gene from two representative isolates (C6 and C7) were 99% identical to those of C. cucurbitarum obtained from NCBI. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS sequences showed that C6 and C7 clustered with C. cucurbitarum. All 89 fungal isolates were found to be pathogenic to okra leaves. We provide the first confirmation that, based on morphological, pathogenicity and phylogenetic analyses, the causal agent of leaf blight of okra in China was C. cucurbitarum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclospora spp. have been identified as one of the most important intestinal pathogens causing protracted diarrhea in animals and human beings. To determine the Cyclospora species in the non-human primate Rhinopithecus roxellanae, a total of 71 fecal samples from 19 endangered snub-nosed monkeys in Shaanxi province were collected and examined using Sheater’s sugar flotation technique and by sequencing the fragments of 18S rDNA. Only two Cyclospora isolates from 2 golden snub-nosed monkeys (R. roxellanae) were obtained and identified between July 2011 and August of 2012. The sequences of the 18S rDNA for the two Cyclospora isolates were 477 bp, with no nucleotide variation between them. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 18S rDNA sequences revealed that the two Cyclospora isolates were posited into the clade Cyclospora spp. and sistered to C. colobi. These results first showed that Cyclospora infection occurred in R. roxellanae in hot and rainy weather, which would provide useful information for further understanding the molecular epidemiology of Cyclospora spp. and the control of Cyclospora infection in non-human primates as well as in human beings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]