Sanger Sequencing Analysis of Potexvirus PCR Products (Potex-5 and Potex-2RC) collected during West Florida Coastal Surveys of Seagrass from Feb 2022 to Oct 2023

This dataset includes Sanger sequence references for 40 Thalassia testudinum samples collected during systematic seagrass surveys from multiple Florida sites, including Terra Ceia Aquatic Preserve, Tampa Bay seagrass sites S1T5 and S3T8 (Lassing Park), Panacea located in the Florida Panhandle, and Florida Keys sites including Bush Key, Garden Key, Marquesas Key, and Key West.
We investigated potexvirus distribution in seagrasses using a degenerate reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay originally designed to capture potexvirus diversity in terrestrial plants. The assay, which implements Potex-5 and Potex-2RC primers, successfully amplified a 584 nt RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) fragment from TVX-infected seagrasses. Following validation, we screened 74 opportunistically collected, apparently healthy seagrass samples for potexviruses using this RT-PCR assay.
Potexvirus PCR products were successfully generated from Thalassia testudinum samples. Sequences from these products are deposited in NCBI GenBank under the accession numbers OR827692-OR827705, OR854648, OR863396, OR879052-OR879056, and PP430548-PP430571.