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Nucleotide Sequencing, Whitefly Transmission, and Screening Tomato for Resistance Against Two Newly Described Begomoviruses in Bangladesh

The molecular diversity of Tomato leaf curl viruses (ToLCVs), from the two main tomato growing areas of Jessore and Joydebpur, Bangladesh, was investigated. The viral DNA was amplified from tomato plants exhibiting mild and severe symptoms by polymerase chain reaction, and the complete genomes of the ToLCVs were sequenced. An isolate of the bipartite Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus-Severe (ToLCNDV-Svr) was associated with the severe symptom phenotype from Jessore (ToLCNDV-Svr[Jes]). A previously undescribed monopartite virus, designated Tomato leaf curl Joydebpur virus-Mild (ToLCJV-Mld), was sequenced from plants showing mild symptoms. ToLCNDV-Svr[Jes] was most closely related to ToLCNDV-[Lucknow] at 95.7% nucleotide (nt) identity and Tomato leaf curl Gujarat virus-[Varanasi] at 90.6% nt identity, based on DNA-A and -B component sequences. ToLCJV-Mld was similar to Pepper leaf curl Bangladesh virus at 87.1% DNA-A nt identity. Identification of ToLCNDV-Svr[Jes] and ToLCJV-Mld was in addition to the previously described Tomato leaf curl Bangladesh virus, with which they shared 73.2 and 86.0% DNA-A nt identities, thus demonstrating the existence of at least three distinct viruses infecting tomato in Bangladesh. Nucleotide identities and placement in phylogenetic trees suggested that the three ToLCVs may have had different evolutionary pathways. The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, transmitted the viruses of this study equally efficiently. Four tomato cultivars (TLB111, TLB130, TLB133, and TLB182) resistant/ tolerant to South Indian ToLCV were screened against the Bangladesh ToLCVs in 2003-04. Although challenged by diverse viruses and potentially mixed infections, disease incidence remained low (6 to 45%) in the resistant cultivars compared with local cultivars (68 to 100%).