A Virus Related to Clover Yellow Mosaic Virus Found East of the Mississippi River in Verbena canadensis in Florida

In September 2002, several unthrifty Verbena canadensis ‘Homestead purple’ plants were received at the Division of Plant Industry in Gainesville, FL. Symptoms included very subtle yellowing and distortion or stunting of the younger leaves, symptoms that could be overlooked as a nutritional problem. Symptomatic leaves were ground in phosphate buffer and mechanically inoculated to a variety of plants that included Antirrhinum majus, Chenopodium amaranticolor, Datura stramonium, Gomphrena globosa, Pisum sativum, Trifolium pratense, T. repens, Vicia faba, and Vigna unguiculata. These hosts showed symptoms similar to those described for infection by Clover yellow mosaic virus (ClYMV) (3). In addition, the virus systemically infected Arachis hypogaea, Catharanthus roseus, C. quinoa, Nicotiana benthamiana, and healthy seed-grown Verbena × hybrida. No symptoms were seen in inoculated Zinnia elegans, N. glutinosa, N. clevelandii, Lycopersicon esculentum, Cucumis sativus, or Capsicum annuum. However, back inoculati...