Survey for Grapevine fanleaf virus in vineyards of north-west Iran and genetic diversity of isolates

Grapevine fanleaf virus (genus Nepovirus) was detected by double antibody sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (DAS-ELISA) in 31 of 134 grapevine samples from the north-west of Iran. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction with two primer sets (S2515/A3300 and CP433V/912C) targeting the Grapevine fanleaf virus coat protein gene resulted in amplification of the expected DNA fragments from some but not all DAS-ELISA positive samples. At the nucleotide level, the Iranian isolates were 84–95% identical to each other and 84–91% identical to other isolates from around the world. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the distribution and genetic diversity of Grapevine fanleaf virus in Iran.