Interspecies Recombination Has Driven the Macroevolution of Cassava Mosaic Begomoviruses.

Begomoviruses (family , genus ) significantly hamper crop production and threaten food security around the world. The frequent emergence of new begomovirus genotypes is facilitated by high mutation frequencies and the propensity to recombine and reassort. Homologous recombination has been especially implicated in the emergence of novel cassava mosaic begomovirus (CMB) genotypes, which cause cassava mosaic disease (CMD).