Several key evolutionary events marked the evolution of geminiviruses, culminating with the emergence of divided (bipartite) genomes represented by viruses classified in the genus Begomovirus. This genus represents the most abundant group of multipartite viruses, contributing significantly to the observed abundance of multipartite species in the virosphere. Although aspects related to virus-host interactions and evolutionary dynamics have been extensively studied, the bipartite nature of these viruses has been little explored in evolutionary studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe World Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic in March 2020, the second pandemic of the twenty-first century. Expanding virus populations, such as that of SARS-CoV-2, accumulate a number of narrowly shared polymorphisms, imposing a confounding effect on traditional clustering methods. In this context, approaches that reduce the complexity of the sequence space occupied by the SARS-CoV-2 population are necessary for robust clustering.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe emergence of begomoviruses (whitefly-transmitted viruses classified in the genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) in Brazil probably occurred by horizontal transfer from non-cultivated plants after the introduction of Bemisia tabaci MEAM1. The centre of diversity of Euphorbia heterophylla (Euphorbiaceae) is located in Brazil and Paraguay, where it is an invasive species in soybean and other crops. Reports of possible begomovirus infection of E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBegomoviruses (single-stranded DNA plant viruses) are responsible for serious agricultural threats. Begomovirus populations exhibit a high degree of within-host genetic variation and evolve as quickly as RNA viruses. Although the recombination-prone nature of begomoviruses has been extensively demonstrated, the relative contribution of recombination and mutation to the genetic variation of begomovirus populations has not been assessed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Begomoviruses are dicot-infecting, whitefly-transmitted viruses with a genome comprised of one or two molecules of circular, single-stranded DNA. In Brazil, tomato-infecting begomoviruses have emerged as serious pathogens since the introduction of a new biotype of the insect vector in the mid-1990's. Tomato rugose mosaic virus (ToRMV) and Tomato severe rugose virus (ToSRV) are often found in tomato fields.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViral diseases caused by begomoviruses are of economic importance due to their adverse effects on the production of tropical and subtropical crops. In Ecuador, despite reports of significant infestations of Bemisia tabaci in the late 1990s, only very recently has a begomovirus, tomato leaf deformation virus (ToLDeV, also present in Peru), been reported in tomato. ToLDeV is the first monopartite begomovirus discovered that originated in the Americas, and its presence in Ecuador highlights the need for a wider survey of tomato-infecting begomoviruses in this country.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of begomovirus infections in crop plants sharply increased in Brazil during the 1990s following the introduction of the invasive B biotype of the whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci. It is believed that this biotype transmitted begomoviruses from noncultivated plants to crop species with greater efficiency than indigenous B. tabaci biotypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBegomoviruses are ssDNA plant viruses that cause serious epidemics in economically important crops worldwide. Non-cultivated plants also harbour many begomoviruses, and it is believed that these hosts may act as reservoirs and as mixing vessels where recombination may occur. Begomoviruses are notoriously recombination-prone, and also display nucleotide substitution rates equivalent to those of RNA viruses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of tomato-infecting begomoviruses has sharply increased in Brazil following the introduction of the B biotype of the whitefly vector in the early 1990s. Five definitive species and six tentative species have been described since then. Here, we report the detection of members of an additional six novel species, three in tomato and three infecting weeds that are commonly associated with tomato fields: Blainvillea rhomboidea, Sida rhombifolia and Sida micrantha.
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