Beet curly top Iran virus (BCTIV) is a major pathogen of sugar beet in Iran. In order to study diversity of BCTIV, we sampled 68 plants in Iran during the summer of 2010 with curly top disease symptoms on beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.), sea beets (Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima), and sugar beets (Beta vulgaris). Plant samples showing leaf curling, yellowing, and/or swelling of veins on the lower leaf surfaces were collected from various fields in Khorasan Razavi, Northern Khorasan (north-eastern Iran), East Azarbayejan, West Azarbayejan (north-western Iran), and Fars (southern Iran) provinces. Using rolling circle amplification coupled with restriction digests, cloning, and Sanger sequencing, we determined the genomes of nine new BCTIV isolates from bean, cowpea, tomato, sea beet, and sugar beet in Iran. Our analysis reveals ~11 % diversity amongst BCTIV isolates and we detect evidence of recombination within these genomes.

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