Cnidoscolus mosaic leaf deformation virus: a novel begomovirus infecting euphorbiaceous plants in Brazil

Abstract

Begomoviruses have been detected infecting the weed Cnidoscolus urens (family Euphorbiaceae) since 2004, but the viral species to which these viruses belonged was not known. Here, we report for the first time the complete genome sequence of a bipartite begomovirus obtained from C. urens collected in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. This isolate met the criteria to be classified as a member of a new begomovirus species, and the tentative name cnidoscolus mosaic leaf deformation virus (CnMLDV) is proposed. Pairwise sequence comparisons and phylogenetic analysis showed that the DNA-A genomic component of CnMLDV is most closely related to that of passionfruit severe leaf distortion virus, with 86.3 % nucleotide sequence identity.

Begomovirus Caboniensis: a New Bipartite Begomovirus Isolated From Cnidoscolus Urens in Brazil

“…Using pairwise comparisons and established criteria for species demarcation within the genus Begomovirus [1], clones BR_Ca96_19A (GenBank accession MZ465527), BR_Ca112_19A (MZ465586), and BR_Ca113_19A (MZ465587) showed a nucleotide identity between them ranging from 98.4 to 100%. They shared 79.8% similarity with CnBYMV (MT553995) and 88.6-88.9% similarity with CnMLDV (NC_038982; Supplementary Figure S2), which are begomoviruses isolated from C. urens in the Piauí and Alagoas States, respectively [14]. Therefore, these isolates represent a new begomovirus species, and the name Begomovirus caboniensis is proposed for this virus, adopting the binomial nomenclature system established by ICTV [24].…”

“…Several species of begomoviruses have been reported in non-cultivated plants in the family Euphorbiaceae [7,8,9,10,11,12,13]. In Cnidoscolus urens, a wild host largely found in northeastern Brazil, only two viruses were reported: Cnidoscolus mosaic leaf deformation virus (CnMLDV) [14] and Cnidoscolus blistering yellow mosaic virus (CnBYMV) [not published]. These reports reinforce the role of non-cultivated plants as viral reservoirs.…”

“…host was characterized, which was identi ed as CnMLDV [14]. Recently, a new species, CnBYMV, was reported in C. urens in Piauí State.…”

Weed-infecting viruses in a tropical agroecosystem present different threats to crops and evolutionary histories

“…In these agroecosystems, it is common to observe non-cultivated plants (mostly weeds) showing striking golden/yellow mosaic symptoms, which are commonly associated with begomovirus infection. In the Caribbean Basin and other parts of Latin America, non-cultivated plants with these symptoms have been reported from species in the families Asteraceae, Capparaceae, Convolvulaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, Nyctaginaceae and Solanaceae [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. Importantly, characterization of begomoviruses associated with these diseases has revealed substantial genetic divergence from viruses that cause economically important crop diseases, although there are some exceptions such as the golden/yellow mosaic symptoms of Malachra alceifolia associated with tobacco leaf curl Cuba virus (TbLCuCV) infection in Jamaica (JM) [36], and mosaic and crumpling symptoms of Nicandra physaloides infected with tomato severe rugose virus in Brazil [37].…”