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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » National Germplasm Resources Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #315205
Title: Genetic diversity and population structure of begomoviruses infecting sweet potato

Author
item Li, Ruhui
item Kinard, Gary
item Mollov, Dimitre
item TAHIR, MUHAMMAD - National Institute Of Biotechnology And Genetic Engineering (NIBGE)
item LAN, PINGXIU - Yunnan Agricultural University
item LI, FAN - Yunnan Agricultural University

Submitted to: Phytopathology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/10/2015
Publication Date: 11/1/2015
Citation: Li, R., Kinard, G.R., Mollov, D.S., Tahir, M.N., Lan, P., Li, F. 2015. Genetic diversity and population structure of begomoviruses infecting sweet potato. Phytopathology. 105:S4.135.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Begomoviruses infecting sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) exhibit high genetic diversity, and approximately eight species including Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) have been described from different regions around the world. In this study, the complete genomic sequences of 17 geographically distinct SPLCV isolates were obtained. Comparative analyses with 141 isolates of other sweet potato begomoviruses were conducted to determine population structure, genetic diversity and underlying evolutionary forces. A mean diversity value of 11.6% was obtained in the population, with highest diversity found in the European subpopulation (13.0%) and lowest in the South American subpopulation (9.3%). With the exception of C3 and C4, four other genes (V1, V2, C1 and C2) were under negative selection pressure. A global analysis using Species Demarcation Tool (SDT) revealed the presence of 10 species, with most isolates (110) as SPLCV. Phylogenetic analysis using the genomic sequences separated the isolates into 16 clusters, which were different from the SDT grouping. Different topologies were obtained when individual genes were analyzed, indicating the occurrence of recombination. RDP4 analysis revealed that 141 of the 158 isolates were naturally occurring recombinants among different known and unknown viruses/isolates, suggesting genetic recombination is major driving force in evolution of these viruses/strains.