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. 2023 Jun 29;15(7):1474.
doi: 10.3390/v15071474.

Metaviromic Characterization of Betaflexivirus Populations Associated with a Vitis cultivar Collection in South Africa

David A Read  1 , Genevieve D Thompson  2 , Dirk Z H Swanevelder  3 , Gerhard Pietersen  4
Affiliations

Metaviromic Characterization of Betaflexivirus Populations Associated with a Vitis cultivar Collection in South Africa

David A Read et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

South Africa is associated with a centuries-old viticultural industry, accompanied by a diverse range of wine and table grape cultivars and an extensive history of pervasive introductions of vine material and associated viruses. The Vitis D2 collection in Stellenbosch represents the most comprehensive collection of Vitis species, hybrids, and cultivars in South Africa. We collected leaf petiole material from 229 accessions from this collection. Our metaviromic analyses revealed a total of 406 complete/near complete genomes of various betaflexiviruses. Among these, we identified the presence of grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus and grapevine viruses A, B, E, F, H (GVH), I (GVI), and M (GVM). Notably, this study marks the first report of GVH, GVI, and GVM in South Africa, which were confirmed via RT-PCR. This research significantly contributes to our understanding of viral diversity and introductions in South African viticulture and emphasizes the need for vigilant monitoring and management of viral infections. Our findings lay the groundwork for strategies that mitigate the impact of viruses on South Africa's wine industry, which generates an annual revenue of approximately 500 million USD.

Keywords: South Africa; betaflexiviruses; grapevine cultivars; grapevine viruses; viticulture.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Betaflexivirus diversity is associated with the samples from this study. Endpoint triangles are scaled to the number of complete/near complete genomes associated with each virus branch, with the actual virus number next to it. * Data for GVL, GVN, and GVO are presented by Read et al. [14,21].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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