Molecular Detection of Virus Infecting Cucurbita pepo L. in Obubra Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria

Cucurbita pepo L is a member of Cucurbitaceae family in the genus Cucurbita. It is grown in Nigeria as a leafy vegetable and for its edible seeds and fruits. This crop has been reported to play important role in nutrition and medicine. A visit to some gardens in the staff quarters of University of Calabar, Nigeria in 2021 planting season revealed symptoms of mosaic and chlorotic spots. This study was initiated to identify the virus causing infection on C. pepo. The diagnostic tools employed were RT-PCR and gene sequence analysis. The result obtained by RT-PCR with cylindrical inclusion (CI) primer showed a fragment of predicted size 700 bp. Sequence alignment and analysis showed that the virus isolate has 86% sequence identity with Algerian watermelon mosaic virus (EU410442.1) confirming that the virus under study is a strain of Algerian watermelon mosaic virus. This is the first report of Algerian watermelon mosaic virus in Nigeria.