SHORT COMMUNICATION First genome sequence of an isolate of hibiscus chlorotic ringspot virus from the Western hemisphere Pedro Luis Ramos-González 1 & Mariane da Costa-Rodrigues 1 & Matheus Potsclam-Barro 1 & Camila Chabi-Jesus 1,2 & Alexander Banguela-Castillo 1 & Ricardo Harakava 1 & Elliot W. Kitajima 3 & Juliana Freitas-Astúa 1,4 Received: 21 August 2019 /Accepted: 23 December 2019 # Sociedade Brasileira de Fitopatologia 2020 Abstract For the first time, the near-complete genome sequence of the betacarmovirus, hibiscus chlorotic ringspot virus (HCRSV) isolated from the Americas is disclosed. High throughput sequencing of the total RNA extract from a Hibiscus-rosa sinensis (L.) plant collected in São Paulo state, Brazil, revealed the genome sequence of HCRSV isolate SBO1, which is 3945 nucleotides long and shows 93.1% nucleotide sequence identity with HCRSV_Singapore (X86448), considered the type member of the species. These two viruses display a similar genomic organization and potentially encode seven open reading frames (ORFs). In addition, a phylogenetic analysis based on a fragment with 557 nts of p38, the coat protein gene, from a cohort of 14 samples collected in Brazil revealed a no clearly defined segregation of South American isolates from those previously detected in geographical areas outside this continent. The practical consequences of the use of p38 ORF-derived amplicons for detection and variability studies of HCRSV are concisely discussed. Keywords Betacarmovirus . Hibiscus rosa-sinensis . High-throughput sequencing . Tombusviridae . Rose of China Hibiscus chlorotic ringspot virus (HCRSV, genus Beta c armovirus , subfamily Procedovirinae , family Tombusviridae) is an isometric, non-enveloped virus recur- rently detected in hibiscus plants (Hibiscus spp.) (Jones and Behncken 1980; Adams et al. 2016). Shrubs of the genus Hibiscus, family Malvaceae, such as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis L., H. cannabinus L., H. sabdariffa L., and H. trionum L., are native of the tropical and subtropical areas around the world. They are commonly used as ornamentals in hedgerows and containers, sources of fibers utilized for the production of paper pulp and cordage, and also as medicinal plants for the treatment of human disorders (da Silva et al. 2014; Liu and Huang 2016; Ayadi et al. 2016; Liang et al. 2017). When infected by HCRSV, hibiscus plants may show stunting, chlo- rotic spots or ring spots, mottling or vein banding on their leaves, flower distortion and abortion, and very often a com- bination of these symptoms (Waterworth 1976). First de- scribed in the 1970s, the hibiscus infections by HCRSV have been reported in Africa (Nigeria) (Lana 1974), America (USA, El Salvador, Brazil) (Waterworth 1976; Araujo et al. 1988), South Europe (Turkey) (Karanfil and Korkmaz 2017), Middle East (Iran, Israel) (Pourrahim et al. 2013; Luria et al. 2013), South East Asia (Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, and China) (Li and Chang 2006; Dolores et al. 2016), Australia and Southern pacific islands (Jones and Behncken 1980; Brunt and Spence 2000; Tang et al. 2008). In addition to its vegetative propagation, HCRSV is easily mechanically transmitted from plant to plant, but neither seed nor vector-mediated transmissions have been reported (Brunt and Spence 2000). The spherical virions of 28 nm in diameter Section Editor: Tatsuya Nagata Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40858-019-00331-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Pedro Luis Ramos-González plrg1970@gmail.com * Juliana Freitas-Astúa juliana.astua@embrapa.br 1 Laboratório de Biologia Molecular Aplicada, Instituto Biológico, Vila Mariana, SP 04014-002, Brazil 2 PPG Microbiologia Agrícola ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba, SP 13418-900, Brazil 3 NAP/MEPA/ESALQ/USP, Piracicaba, SP 13418-900, Brazil 4 Embrapa Cassava and Fruits, R. Embrapa, Cruz das Almas, BA 44380-000, Brazil Tropical Plant Pathology https://doi.org/10.1007/s40858-019-00331-x