Poster Session: Systematics/Evolution/Ecology-Viruses

111-P

Diversity of begomoviruses isolated from weed and cultivated plants in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
O. A. MORENO-VALENZUELA (1), C. Hernandez-Zepeda (2), Y. Minero-Garcia (1), G. Carnevali (1), J. K. Brown (3), G. Argüello-Astorga (4), I. Torres-Herrera (4)
(1) Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico; (2) Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico; (3) University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.; (4) IPICYT, San Luis Potosi, Mexico

A number of native and cultivated eudicots in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico (YPM) exhibit symptoms associated with geminivirus infection. Based on the current criteria for Begomovirus species demarcation, a total of 7 new viral species were identified from weed plants: Abutilon mosaic Yucatan virus (AbMYV), Capraria mosaic Yucatan virus (CpMYV), Jacquemontia mosaic Yucatan virus (JaMYV), Vigna mosaic Yucatan virus (ViMYV), Anoda mosaic Yucatan virus (AMYV), Malvastrum yellow mosaic yucatan virus, and Desmodium mosaic Yucatan virus (DeMYV). Cultivated plants (bean, tomato and pepper) were also tested for the presence of begomoviruses, results indicated the presence (as reported before) in the region of the Bean golden yellow mosaic virus (BGYMV), Pepper huasteco yellow vein virus (PHYVV), Pepper golden mosaic virus (PepGMV), and Tomato mottle virus (ToMoV). The Yucatan Peninsula is a region with a high begomovirus diversity, in total our group has reported more than 17 new species from weed plants, and more than 5 strains from cultivated plants. Recombination analysis among demonstrated that this process has played an important role in the diversification of begomoviruses from the YPM. Phylogenetic analysis provisionally placed all isolates from the YPM in a Western Hemisphere begomovirus clade.