Identification of a new isolate of Banana mild mosaic virus by high throughput sequencing triggers the development of a new diagnostic primer

The Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) hosts more than 1,500 accessions covering the genetic diversity of the genus Musa. Its objective is to conserve this diversity and supply plant materials to users worldwide. These accessions can be distributed only if virus infection is not detected during indexing. The indexing is carried out by targeted IC-(RT)-PCR for 10 viruses, electron microscopy and symptom observation (De Clerck et al., 2017). One accession (ITC 0763) tested negative by IC-RT-PCR while viral particles were observed by electron microscopy, suggesting the infection by a new virus species or by a divergent viral strain from an existing species.