Prevalence and genetic variability of grapevine virus A in Turkish autochthonous grapevine varieties

This work describes the first molecular characterization of grapevine virus A (GVA) in Turkish grapevine varieties based on the coat protein gene. RT-PCR detection revealed a high infection rate of GVA in two major viticultural areas, Eastern Mediterranean (EM) and Southeast Anatolia (SEA). The number of infected varieties was higher in SEA, where very ancient and traditional cultivars are in use and no foreign grapevine material has been introduced. High nucleotide and amino acid sequence similarity were seen between the Turkish GVA isolates and the reference isolates in group I and II. The viral isolates from the same location and cultivars were not phylogenetically related.