First Report of a Begomovirus Infecting Sweetpotato in Kenya

Previous surveys for viruses in sweetpotatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in Africa did not assay for the presence of begomoviruses such as Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV), which have been found recently in the Americas and Asia. Symptomatic sweetpotato plants, including some with leaf curling symptoms similar to those observed in SPLCV-infected sweet-potato plants (2), were collected from a germplasm collection plot at Kakamega Research Station in Western Kenya during February 2005. Whiteflies, the vectors for begomoviruses, were observed in the same plots. Ipomoea setosa plants graft-inoculated with scions from the symptomatic sweetpotato developed leaf curl, leaf roll, interveinal chlorosis, and stunting symptoms similar to those caused by infection with SPLCV alone or in combination with Sweet potato feathery mottle virus. Total DNA was isolated from 10 I. setosa plants using the GenElute Plant Genomic DNA Kit (Sigma-Aldrich Inc., St. Louis, MO). Sweetpotato cuttings from 39 clones, selected from the Kenyan germplasm collection for their resistance or susceptibility to sweetpotato virus disease (SPVD), were sent to the Plant Germplasm Quarantine Office of USDA-ARS. The cuttings were planted in a greenhouse. Total DNA was extracted from sweetpotato leaves 1 month later using a cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) extraction method (1). Degenerate primers SPG1/SPG2, developed for PCR detection of begomoviruses (1), amplified a 912-bp DNA fragment from 3 of 10 DNA extracts from I. setosa and 5 of 39 sweetpotato plants held in quarantine. The primers anneal to regions of open reading frame (ORF) AC2 and ORF AC1 that are highly conserved in begomoviruses infecting sweetpotato. SPLCV-specific primers PW285-1/PW285-2 (2) amplified a 512-bp DNA fragment of ORF AC1 from seven samples (two from I. setosa and five from I. batatas). Amplicons from three independent PCR assays of two samples and single PCR assays of four additional samples were cloned into the pGEM-T Easy vector. Clone inserts were sequenced, and compared with sequences deposited in GenBank using the basic local alignment search tool (BLAST). Sequences were closely related to SPLCV (GenBank Accession No. AF104036) with nucleotide sequence identities varying from 93% (GenBank Accession No. DQ361004) to 97% (GenBank Accession No. DQ361005). The presence of the virus poses a challenge to the dissemination of planting materials in the region because begomovirus-infected plants often do not show symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a begomovirus infecting sweetpotato in Kenya or the East African Region. References: (1) R. Li et al. Plant Dis. 88:1347, 2004. (2) P. Lotrakul et al. Plant Dis. 82:1253, 1998.