Molecular characterization of A2 and D strains of Soybean mosaic virus, which caused a recent virus outbreak in soybean cultivar Sachiyutaka in Chugoku and Shikoku regions of Japan

Coat protein sequences of two isolates in strain A2 and five isolates in strain D of Soybean mosaic virus (SMV), which caused a recent mosaic outbreak in soybeans (cv. Sachiyutaka) in Chugoku and Shikoku in Japan, were compared to published data on 15 other Asian-origin isolates. Sequence comparison and cluster analysis showed that SMV isolates of strain A2 from these districts were closely related, as were those of strain D, but strains A2 and D were not. Thus, the two strains may have different origins and be carried through seed transmission. © The Phytopathological Society of Japan and Springer-Verlag 2005.