Molecular characterization of a new begomovirus infecting Sida cordifolia and its associated satellite DNA molecules

Two virus isolates Hn57 and Hn60 were obtained from Sida cordifolia showing mild upward leaf-curling symptoms in Hainan province of China. Comparison of partial sequences of DNA-A like molecule confirmed the existence of a single type of begomovirus. The complete nucleotide sequence of DNA-A of Hn57 was determined to be 2757 nucleotides, with a genomic organization typical of begomoviruses. Complete sequence comparison with other reported begomoviruses revealed that Hn57 DNA-A has the highest sequence identity (71.0%) with that of Tobacco leaf curl Yunnan virus. Consequently, Hn57 was considered to be a new begomovirus species, for which the name Sida leaf curl virus (SiLCV) is proposed. In addition to DNA-A molecule, two additional circular single-stranded satellite DNA molecules corresponding to DNAbeta and DNA1 were found to be associated with SiLCV isolates. Both DNAbeta and DNA1 were approximately half the size of their cognate genomic DNA. Sequence analysis shows that DNAbeta of Hn57 and Hn60 share 93.8% nucleotide sequence identity, and they have the highest sequence identity (58.5%) with DNAbeta associated with Ageratum leaf curl disease (AJ316027). The nucleotide sequence identity between DNA1 of Hn57 and that of Hn60 was 83.8%, they share 58.2-79.3% nucleotide sequence identities in comparison with other previously reported DNAl.