Phylogenetic and Recombination Analysis of Apple Stem Grooving Virus Isolates from Pears in Korea

The apple stem grooving virus (ASGV) is one of the most harmful latent viruses infecting pear orchards worldwide. To examine the genetic diversity of ASGV in Korean pear orchards, the complete coat protein (CP) gene of five ASGV isolates collected from various regions were identified. The five Korean ASGV isolates showed 88–96% nucleotide identity with the 11 isolates worldwide occurring elsewhere in the world. Phylogenetic analysis of five isolates, as well as the previously sequenced isolates, indicated that the ASGV clusters had no correlation with the host or geographical regions of origin. Recombination analysis showed that one of the five Korean isolates is a recombinant, with a recombination site in the CP gene region (nt 532–708). This study is the first report of natural recombination within the CP gene of ASGV isolates from pears grown in Korea.