The variability of Hosta virus X isolates in the Czech Republic.

The coat protein (CP) gene DNA sequences of nine isolates of Hosta virus X (HVX) from different regions of the Czech Republic were determined and compared with sequences available in GenBank. The sequences were almost uniform, the pairwise nucleotide identities among the Czech HVX isolates were 99-100%. The respective range was 98-100% when sequences from the GenBank were included. Therefore, phylogenetic analyses including Maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses of either, DNA and deduced amino acid sequences, showed close relationship among isolates. Only the group of two isolates, HVXCR1 and HVXCR8 showed significant sequence divergence in phylogenetic trees. The HVXCR1-HVXCR8 group differs from the others by the substitution of glutamine (Q) by arginine (R). Moreover, these isolates showed different symptoms on infected hosta leaves - deformation on the leaves without a mosaic or mottling. This amino acid change may, therefore, have a biological significance.