Parziale caratterizzazione di un ceppo del virus della maculatura anulare dell?ortensia (HRSV) isolato in Puglia.

In spring 2002, plants of H. macrophylla showing yellowish spots especially on the old leaves were observed in some greenhouses of Apulia (southern Italy). A virus with filamentous particles ~490 nm in length was isolated from symptomatic leaves of Hydrangea plants by mechanical inoculation to herbaceous hosts. A fragment of 735 nt of the viral genome was sequenced. Based on the homology found, the virus was identified as an isolate of Hydrangea ring spot virus (HRSV). This paper reports the results of the partial molecular characterization of the HRSV isolate identified in Hydrangea plants in Apulia. This is the first molecular characterization of an isolate of HRSV from Italy. The importance of a phytosanitary improvement of nursery-gardening production is briefly discussed.