Both Indian cassava mosaic virus and Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus are found in India and exhibit high variability as assessed by PCR-RFLP

The biodiversity of geminiviruses associated with the Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) in India was investigated using PCR to specifically amplify the DNA of Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV) or Sri Lankan cassava mosaic virus (SLCMV) and also by using PCR to amplify specific viral genes, followed by digestion with different restriction endonucleases to obtain polymorphic patterns (PCR-RFLP). Results showed that both ICMV and SLCMV were present in mosaic-affected cassava; ICMV was geographically restricted to certain regions, whereas SLCMV was widespread. PCR-RFLP analysis showed that, in addition to ICMV-type and SLCMV-type patterns, a high proportion (40%) of the samples displayed novel patterns, some of which were localized in certain areas, whereas others were widely distributed.