Sequence characterization of tomato leaf curl Sinaloa virus and tomato severe leaf curl virus: phylogeny of New World begomoviruses and detection of recombination.

Diseases caused by begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae, genus Begomovirus) constitute a serious constraint to tomato production in Nicaragua. In this study, the complete nucleotide (nt) sequences of the DNA-A and DNA-B components were determined for the first time for Tomato leaf curl Sinaloa virus (ToLCSinV). In addition, the complete nt sequence was determined for the DNA-A component of two isolates of Tomato severe leaf curl virus (ToSLCV). The genome organization of ToLCSinV and ToSLCV was identical to the bipartite genomes of other begomoviruses described from the Americas. A phylogenetic analysis of DNA-A including 45 begomovirus species showed that the indigenous begomoviruses of the New World can be divided into three major clades and an intermediate group: AbMV clade, SLCV clade, "Brazil clade", and BGYMV group. Phylogenetic analyses of the DNA-A and DNA-B components and their open reading frames indicated that ToLCSinV and ToSLCV belong to different clades: ToLCSinV to the AbMV clade, and ToSLCV to the SLCV clade. The two Nicaraguan isolates of ToSLCV showed a close relationship with ToSLCV from Guatemala (ToSLCV-[GT96-1]) and Tomato chino La Paz virus (ToChLPV), but differed significantly in the AV1 and AC1 regions, respectively. Computer-based predictions indicated that recombination with another begomovirus had taken place within AV1 of ToSLCV dividing this species into two strains. A high probability was also found that ToChLPV is involved in the evolution of ToSLCV.