OnlineFirst Articles
EUPHRESCO III-Special Issue on Plant Health Research Priorities-RESEARCH PAPERS

First molecular detection and characterization of Citrivirus citri (citrus leaf blotch virus) in citrus in Turkiye

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  • Buşra FIDANCI AVCI,
  • Nuket ÖNELGE,
  • Akif ESKALEN
Buşra FIDANCI AVCI
Department of Plant Protection, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Turkiye
Nuket ÖNELGE
Department of Plant Protection, Cukurova University, Adana 01330, Turkiye
Akif ESKALEN
Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/phyto-17344
Categories

Published 2026-10-27

Keywords

  • Citrus,
  • bud union disorders,
  • CLBV,
  • genetic diversity

How to Cite

[1]
B. FIDANCI AVCI, ÖNELGE N., and A. ESKALEN, “First molecular detection and characterization of Citrivirus citri (citrus leaf blotch virus) in citrus in Turkiye”, Phytopathol. Mediterr., Oct. 2026.

Copyright (c) 2026 Buşra FIDANCI AVCI, Nuket ÖNELGE, Akif ESKALEN

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Citrivirus citri (Betaflexiviridae) (citrus leaf blotch virus; CLBV), is a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus, that has been associated with bud union disorders and chlorotic leaf blotching in citrus. Although this virus has been reported from several citrus-producing regions, its occurrence in Turkiye has not been molecularly confirmed. In this study, 143 samples of satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) and Nagami kumquat (Fortunella margarita (Lour.) Swingle) collected from the Çukurova region on the Mediterranean coast of Turkiye between 2019 and 2024 were assessed using RT-PCR, with representative samples confirmed by RT-qPCR and sequencing. CLBV infections were detected in 37% of kumquat and 21% of and satsuma mandarin samples. Positive samples included symptomatic and asymptomatic trees, indicating that visual inspection alone is insufficient for detection of CLBV infections. Coat protein gene sequences showed high similarity among most isolates from Turkiye, but one isolate was closely related to an isolate from China. The RdRp-based phylogenetic analyses revealed greater genetic diversity among isolates from Turkiye than was observed in the coat protein (CP)-based phylogenetic analyses. Transmission electron microscopy revealed flexuous filamentous particles in CLBV-infected kumquat and experimentally inoculated Nicotiana benthamiana plants, that were consistent with members of the Betaflexiviridae. These results provide the first molecular evidence of CLBV in citrus from Turkiye, and support the inclusion of CLBV screening in routine citrus certification and indexing programmes.

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