Among the main pathogens infecting temperate fruit trees are Prune dwarf virus, Apple mosaic virus and Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 1. In this work the detection and molecular characterization of the coat protein genes of isolates from these viral species were carried out. Total RNA was extracted from peach, apple and grapevine leaves and RT-PCR reactions were performed using specific primers to each virus. The amplified cDNA fragments were cloned and sequenced. High identities were observed between coat protein nucleotide sequences of Brazilian isolates of PDV, ApMV and GLRaV-1 and isolates from other countries, independently from geographic origin and host. Coat protein molecular weights of these viruses were estimated by Western blot to be ca. 24kDa (PDV), 26kDa (ApMV) and 39kDa (GLRaV-1).
PDV; ApMV; GLRaV-1; peach; apple; grapevine
