Diverse and recombinant DNA betasatellites are associated with a begomovirus disease complex of Digera arvensis, a weed host

Weeds are considered as a source of new viruses and reservoirs of economically important viruses but are often neglected during diversity studies. Here, we report the complete nucleotide sequences and phylogenetic analyses of the components of a begomovirus disease complex associated with yellow vein disease of Digera arvensis, a common weed. The begomovirus associated with the disease showed 98% nucleotide sequence identity with Cotton leaf curl Rajasthan virus. Two species of betasatellite were identified. The first betasatellite species was an isolate of Ageratum yellow leaf curl betasatellite. The second was a recombinant consisting for the most part of sequence derived from a Tobacco leaf curl betasatellite but with the satellite conserved region (SCR) and some sequence between the SCR and adenine-rich (A-rich) region derived from a Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite. The alphasatellite isolated from this weed was near identical to an isolate recently characterized from potato. The presence of multiple and recombinant betasatellites in D. arvensis indicates that weeds can be important sources of multiple begomovirus components that affect crop plants. Furthermore, the presence of a recombinant betasatellite suggested that weeds are likely vessels for recombination and evolution of components of begomovirus complexes. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.