Phylogenetic analysis of Lithuanian tomato black ring virus isolates

Tomato black ring virus (TBRV) was first detected on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants in Lithuania in 2012. During 2013, additional eleven isolates of this virus were found on ornamental and food plants in different regions of Lithuania. The virus was identified by double antibody sandwich-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (DAS-ELISA), electron microscopy and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Up to date, full genome sequences of only two different TBRV isolates have been available at GenBank. Comparison of these sequences enabled us to derive PCR primers for amplifying full length copy of TBRV coat protein (CP) gene sequence. With these primers we successfully amplified and sequenced CP gene of all 12 TBRV isolates that we found. The obtained nucleotide sequences have been submitted to the GenBank database. Phylogenetic analysis of CP gene sequence showed Lithuanian TBRV isolates to be more similar to Polish TBRV isolates than to English ones. It also suggests that a few relatively distinct strains of this virus might be present in Lithuania.