June 9, 2006
From: ProMED-mail<promed@promedmail.org>
In this set of postings on begomoviruses:

[1] Chilli leaf curl virus, chilli - India: 1st report
[2] Tomato leaf curl virus, tomato - Seychelles: 1st report
[3] Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus, bean - China: 1st report
[4] Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, tomato - Indonesia: 1st report
[5] Tomato begomovirus - Mozambique: suspected

[1] Chilli leaf curl virus, chilli - India: First report
Date: 9 Jun 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: British Society for Plant Pathology, New Disease Reports, Vol. 13 [edited] <http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2006/2006-35.asp>

First report of Chilli leaf curl virus affecting chilli in India
D.M.J.B. Senanayake1, B. Mandal*1, S. Lodha2 and A. Varma1 1 Advanced Centre for Plant Virology, Division of Plant Pathology, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110012, India 2 Plant Pathology Laboratory, Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-342003, India *<leafcurl@rediffmail.com>. Accepted for publication 23 May 2006.

Chilli (_Capsicum annuum_) is an important spice crop cultivated throughout India. Leaf curl disease of Chilli has emerged as a serious problem in the Jodhpur district, the major chilli growing area of Rajasthan state. During December 2004, very high disease incidence (up to 100 percent of plants) was observed in farmer's fields in Narwa and Tinwari villages. The characteristic field symptoms were upward curling, puckering and reduced size of leaves. Severely affected plants were stunted and produced no fruit. The virus from field samples from Narwa village was transmitted by whitefly (_Bemisia tabaci_) to 50-100 percent of chilli test plants, which produced vein clearing, curling and stunting symptoms. Electron microscopic examination of field samples revealed few, typical geminate particles. Sequence analysis showed that the virus isolated from Jodhpur was distantly related (59.1-67.9 percent identity) to CLCuMV, PepYLCIDV and ToLCNDV. However, it shared 96.5 percent identity with ChiLCuV-[Pak:Mul]. Given the close sequence identity with ChiLCuV-[Pk:Mul], the virus isolated from Jodhpur is considered to be ChiLCuV. To our knowledge this is the 1st report of ChiLCuV affecting chilli in India. Our findings along with the recent report of Khan et al. (2005) show that chilli leaf curl in India is caused by more than one begomovirus.

References

Hussain M, Mansoor S, Iram S, Zafar Y, Briddon RW, 2004. 1st report of Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus affecting chilli pepper in Pakistan. Plant Pathology 53, 794. (1st published online: New Disease Reports 9,
<http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2004/2004-25.asp>).

Khan MS, Raj SK, Singh R, 2006. 1st report of Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus infecting chilli in India. Plant Pathology 55, 289. (1st published online: New Disease Reports 11,
<http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2005/2005-52.asp>).

Shih SL, Tsai WS, Green SK, 2003. Molecular characterization of tomato and chilli leaf curl begomoviruses from Pakistan. Plant Disease 87, 200.

Tsai WS, Shih SL, Green SK, Rauf A, Hidayat SH, Jan FJ, 2006. Molecular characterization of Pepper yellow leaf curl Indonesia virus in leaf curl and yellowing diseased tomato and pepper in Indonesia. Plant Disease 90, 247.

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[2] Tomato leaf curl virus, tomato - Seychelles: First report
Date: 9 Jun 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: British Society for Plant Pathology, New Disease Reports, Vol. 13 [edited]
<http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2006/2006-34.asp>

A new tomato leaf curl virus from the Seychelles archipelago
P. Lefeuvre1, H. Delatte1, F. Naze1, W. Dogley2, B. Reynaud1 and J.M. Lett1* 1 CIRAD, UMR PVBMT CIRAD-Universit de La Runion, Pole de Protection des Plantes, Ligne Paradis, 97410 Saint-Pierre, La Runion, France 2 Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, PO Box 166, Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles *<lett@cirad.fr>. Accepted for publication 16 May 2006.

In July 2004, a survey of plants with virus disease symptoms was conducted in the Seychelles archipelago on Mahe Island, located north of Madagascar. A small number of leaf samples showing curling symptoms were collected from bean (_Phaseolus vulgaris_), pepper (_Capsicum annuum_) and tomato (_Lycopersicon esculentum_). Leaf extracts were tested for the presence of begomoviruses by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). using 2 sets of degenerate primers designed to amplify portions of the coat protein (CP) gene of the DNA A
component. No PCR products were obtained from pepper or bean leaf extracts. For 2 tomato samples, PCR products of the expected size were obtained with both sets of primers. Analysis showed between 88 percent and 89 percent nucleotide sequence identity with ToLCYTV isolates (AJ865339 and AJ865340) and between 85 and 86 percent identity with Tomato yellow leaf curl virus isolates from Reunion Island (TYLCV-[RE], AM234066; and TYLCV-Mld[RE], AJ865337). These results suggest the presence of a new tomato begomovirus in the Seychelles archipelago; genetically related to the ToLCYTV isolates and so to the African tomato monopartite begomoviruses previously identified in the South West Islands of the Indian Ocean (Delatte et al., 2005). The new virus is tentatively named Tomato leaf curl Seychelles virus (ToLCSCV).

Acknowledgements:
This study was initiated by the Regional Program of Plant Protection and funded by the European Union and the Conseil Regional de La Reunion.

References

Brown JK, Idris AM, Torres-Jerez I, Banks GK, Wyatt SD, 2001. The core region of the coat protein gene is highly useful for establishing the provisional identification and classification of begomoviruses. Archives of Virology 146, 1581-1598.

Delatte H, Martin DP, Naze F, Goldbach R, Reynaud B, Peterschmitt M, Lett JM, 2005. South West Indian Ocean islands tomato begomovirus populations represent a new major monopartite begomovirus group. Journal of General Virology 86, 1533-1542.

Wyatt SD, Brown JK, 1996. Detection of subgroup III geminivirus isolates in leaf extracts by degenerate primers and polymerase chain reaction. Phytopathology 86, 1288-1293.

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[3] Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus, bean - China: First report
Date: 9 Jun 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: British Society for Plant Pathology, New Disease Reports, Vol. 13 [edited]
<http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2006/2006-33.asp>

First report of Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus infecting kidney bean in China
J.H. Dong, Y.Q. Luo, M. Ding, Z.K. Zhang* and C.K Yang Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Resources, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming 650223, China *<Zhongkai99@sina.com>. Accepted for
publication 16 May 2006.

In 2004, a virus isolate (Bean-YM) was obtained from Kidney bean (_Phaseolus vulgaris_) showing leaf curl symptoms (Fig. 1) from Yuanmou, in the Yunnan province of China. Sequence comparison showed
that the begomovirus cDNA fragment was most closely related to Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) isolate [Y43] (Acc. No. AJ781302) with 92 percent nucleotide sequence identity. The complete DNA-A sequence of Bean-YM was determined to be 2731 nucleotides (DQ256460). Comparisons with other begomoviruses showed that DNA-A of Bean-YM is closely related to TYLCCNYV-[Y43] with 92 percent nucleotide sequence identity.

Figure 1: Symptoms exhibited by kidney bean infected with Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV) isolate Bean-YM <http://www.bspp.org.uk/ndr/july2006/2006-33-1.jpg>.

All previously characterized TYLCCNV isolates have been shown to be associated with DNA beta molecules (Cui et al., 2004). Sequence analysis revealed that DNA beta of Bean-YM is 1336 nucleotides long (DQ256459) and most closely related to the DNA beta associated with TYLCCNV-[Y10] (AJ421621; 80.8 percent nucleotide sequence identity).

TYLCCNV has previously been reported to infect tomato, tobacco and weeds. This is the 1st report of TYLCCNV infecting a legume.

Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30360005) and the Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Province, China (Grant No. 2005C0012Z).

References

Zhou XP, Xie Y, Peng Y, Zhang ZK, 2003. Malvastrum yellow vein virus, a new Begomovirus species associated with satellite DNA molecule. Chinese Science Bulletin 48, 2205-9.

Cui, XF, Tao, XR, Xie, Y, Fauquet, CM, Zhou, XP, 2004. A DNA B associated with Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus is required for symptom induction in hosts. Journal of Virology 78, 13966-74.

Briddon RW, Bull SE, Mansoor S, Amin I, Markham PG, 2002. Universal primers for the PCR-mediated amplification of DNA beta; a molecule associated with some monopartite begomoviruses. Molecular Biotechnology 20, 315-318.

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[4] Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, tomato - Indonesia: First report
Date: 9 Jun 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: American Phytopathological Society, Plant Disease Notes, June 2006 [edited]
<http://www.apsnet.org/pd/searchnotes/2006/PD-90-0831B.asp>

Molecular Characterization of a Distinct Tomato-Infecting Begomovirus Associated with Yellow Leaf Curl Diseased Tomato in Lembang, Java Island of Indonesia.
W. S. Tsai, S. L. Shih, and S. K. Green, AVRDC-The World Vegetable Center, P.O. Box 42, Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan, 74199, R.O.C.; D. Akkermans, P. T. East West Seed Indonesia, P.O. Box 1, Campaka, Purwakarta 41181, West Java, Indonesia; and F.-J. Jan, Department of Plant Pathology, National Chung Hsing University, 250 Kuo-Kuang Rd., Taichung 402, Taiwan, R.O.C. Plant Dis. 90:831, 2006; published on-line as DOI: 10.1094/PD-90-0831B. Accepted for publication 18 Mar 2006.

Three distinct tomato-infecting begomoviruses have been identified from Indonesia (GenBank Accessions Nos. AB100304, AB100305, and DQ083765). Severe yellow leaf curl epidemics have been observed on tomato on Java Island since the late 1990s. Viral DNA was extracted (2) from one such sample collected in Lembang, West Java in 1998. Highest nucleotide sequence identity (74.1 percent) was with Tomato leaf curl Mayotte virus-[Kahani] (GenBank Accession No. AJ865340). Comparison of the full-length DNA-A sequence with the 3 above mentioned tomato-infecting begomoviruses from Indonesia also showed less than 71 percent nucleotide sequence identities. Because the DNA-A sequence had less than 89 percent identity with other begomoviruses, it should be classified as a distinct virus according to the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses. The name Tomato yellow leaf curl Indonesia virus-[Lembang] (TYLCIDV-[Lem]) is proposed. The presence of at least 4 distinct tomato-infecting begeminiviruses on Java Island needs to be considered when developing tomato cultivars with stable resistance to tomato (yellow) leaf curl disease.

References:

(1) R. W. Briddon et al. Virology 312:106, 2003.
(2) R. L. Gilbertson et al. J. Gen. Virol. 72:2843, 1991.
(3) S. K. Green et al. Plant Dis. 85:1286, 2001.
(4) M. R. Rojas et al. Plant Dis. 77:340, 1993.

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[5] Tomato begomovirus - Mozambique: suspected
Date: 6 Jun 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Allafrica.com [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200606060493.html>

Mozambique: Line of Credit for Vegetable Producers

A viral disease has affected tomato production, mainly in the district of Chokwe, in the southern province of Gaza, Mozambique. The disease wiped out all the tomato crop of some farmers, and others lost between 70 and 90 percent of their crop.

Government measures to manage the disease include "the movement of non-certified tomato seedlings from affected to non-affected areas is expressly prohibited." The government has also ordered the destruction of the affected fields as a means to check the disease. It has also arranged a line of credit of 7 billion meticais (USD 280 000) to help re-launch vegetable and particularly tomato production in some districts.

Other measures include chemical control of the disease, which means attempting to kill off the white fly, which transmits the virus, and enforcing the law on the import of plants and their certification in their country of origin.

The latest news on the tomato disease is that it has spread from Gaza into Moamba district, in Maputo province. So far, at least 7 hectares of tomato are affected in Moamba, and there are fears for this year's [2006] tomato harvest.

Chokwe and Moamba are the largest tomato-producing areas in Mozambique. Crop failure here will push Mozambican consumers into ever greater reliance on South African tomatoes.

[Byline: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique]

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[Vegetable crop plants often develop leaf curl symptoms when infected with begomoviruses. These are ssDNA viruses (family: _Geminiviridae_, genus: _Begomovirus_) which are transmitted by whiteflies (_Bemisia tabaci_). They have a great capacity to form hybrids and therefore new viruses. Once introduced into an area, they are difficult to control. There are about 100 previous postings on begomoviruses in ProMED-mail archives (search term: begomovirus or begomoviruses). The postings included in the "see also" section are for begomoviruses
reported in articles written in 2006.

This is yet another set of reports pointing out the diversity of begomoviruses, the frequent discovery of new viruses of the group, the need to prevent their introduction with transplants, and their increasing importance in worldwide agriculture.

In this posting, new begomoviruses are reported in tomato (_Lycopersicon esculentum_) in the Seychelles archipelago on Mahe Island, in Lembang, Java Island of Indonesia, and in Mozambique (suspected); in chilli (_Capsicum annuum_) in Jodhpur, India; in kidney bean (_Phaseolus vulgaris_) from Yuanmou, in the Yunnan
province of China. The detection of a Chinese strain of TYLCV in a legume is noted to be a 1st report. The methods used to clone and sequence all or parts of the viral ssDNA genomes have been edited out (see original links for details). The West Java virus seems the least related to other previously characterized begomoviruses, but all 4 that have been partially or entirely sequenced are unique. The article from Mozambique repaints the picture of how severe an impact these viruses are having in developing counties.

Map:
Jodhpur, India
<http://www.tageo.com/index-e-in-v-24-d-m2913789.htm>
Mahe Island, Seychelles
<http://www.go2africa.com/seychelles/map.asp>
<http://www.tageo.com/index-e-se-v-00-d-m1911444.htm>
Lambang, Java, Indonesia
<http://www.tageo.com/index-e-id-v-30-d-9145629.htm>
Mozambique
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/nytmaps.pl?mozambique>
Yuanmou, Yunnan, China
<http://www.tageo.com/index-e-ch-v-29-d-m2703089.htm>

Pictures:
Chilli leaf curl virus
<http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/viruses/chilcuv/ChiLCuV_th.gif>
Tomato leaf curl virus
<http://www.avrdc.org/photos/tomato_diseases/TLCV_01.jpg>
Tomato yellow leaf curl virus
<http://www.avrdc.org/LC/tomato/tylcv05big.jpg>

Links:
<http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/about.htm>
<http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/virus_index.htm>
<http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/viruses/chilcuv/>
<http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/viruses/tylccnv/index.htm>
<http://gemini.biosci.arizona.edu/viruses/tylcv/index.htm>
- Mod.JAD]

[see also in the archive:
Quarantine Pests, New Data - EPPO (02) 20060531.1521
Sweet potato leaf curl virus - Kenya: 1st report 20060521.1438
Yellow mosaic, pepper, new begomovirus - Cuba 20060429.1243
Yellow leaf curl, tomato - Australia (QLD): 1st rep 20060330.0967
Quarantine pests, new data, EPPO 20060314.0801
Leaf crumple, soybean - India: 1st report 20060310.0769
Geminiviruses, vegetable crops - Jamaica 20060310.0768
Yellow leaf curl, tomato - Multicountry: 1st reports 20060304.0702]