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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Wheat, Sorghum and Forage Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #121413
Title: CHARACTERIZATION OF CUCURBIT LEAF CURL VIRUS AND FORMATION OF VIABLE REASSORTANTS WITH SQUASH LEAF CURL VIRUS E

Author
item BROWN, J - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item IDRIS, A. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item ALTERI, C. - UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
item Stenger, Drake

Submitted to: American Society for Virology Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2001
Publication Date: 7/20/2001
Citation: Brown, J.K., Idris, A.M., Alteri, C., Stenger, D.C. 2001. Characterization of cucurbit leaf curl virus and formation of viable reassortants with squash leaf curl virus e. American Society For Virology Meeting. (not published.)

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Cucurbit leaf curl virus (CuLCV), a whitefly-transmitted geminivirus from the southwestern US and locales adjacent to the Sonoran Desert is a newly emergent bipartite begomoviral species. Cloned CuLCV A and B components were infectious by biolistic inoculation to pumpkin and progeny virus was transmissible by the B type of the whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci, thereby ycompleting Koch's Postulates. Experimental host range studies indicated CuLCV may infect species in the Cucurbitaceae and Fabaceae. The Arizonan CuLCV isolate described here shares 99% (DNA A) and 97% (DNA B) nt identity with a Californian begomovirus isolate (Guzman et al.,2000, Plant Dis. D- 2000-0218-02N {on-line}), indicating that they are the same virus species. CuLCV DNA-A shared highest nucleotide sequence identities with Squash leaf curl virus-R (SLCV-R), SLCV-E, and Bean calico mosaic virus (BCMoV), at 84.4%, 82.7%, and 80.2%, respectively. The CuLCV DNA-B shared highest nucleotide sequence identities with BCMoV (70.6%), SLCV-R (69.0%), and SLCV-E (67.7%).A potential region of recombination between the A components of CuLCV and SLCV-R was identified which included the 5'-proximal portion of the AC1 ORF and the 3'-proximal portion of the Common Region (CR). The cis-acting replication specificity element within the CR of CuLCV (GGTGTCCTGGTG) is 100% conserved with SLCV-E, SLCV-R, and BCMoV, suggesting reassortants among these viruses may be viable. Reciprocal reassortants among CuLCV and SLCV-E produced systemic infection of pumpkin. Only the combination CuLCV B x SLCV-R A produced attenuated, albeit, poorly infectious reassortants. These results indicate that the cucurbit- infecting begomovirus species complex of the Greater Sonoran Desert agroecosystem is dynamic and warrants ongoing scrutiny.