Molecular evidence of two begomoviruses and a novel DNA-B infecting Duranta erecta variegata in Pakistan

Rapidly evolving begomoviruses are a serious threat to cash crops worldwide. Perennial plants often harbor these viruses for a long time, making them accessible to crop plants. Perennial ornamental plants Duranta erecta variegata (Variegated Sky Flower) were found with typical begomoviral symptoms, including leaf curling, leaf deformation, and leaf shortening in the plant nurseries of Faisalabad, Pakistan, in 2021. Begomovirus and its associated satellite molecules of ~ 2.8 and ~ 1.4 kb, respectively, were amplified using rolling circle amplification (RCA). Sanger sequencing of cloned molecules revealed the presence of rose leaf curl virus (RoLCuV, Begomovirus rosae) accompanied by a novel recombinant DNA-B, tentatively named "rose leaf curl virus DNA-B," along with hollyhock yellow vein alphasatellite (HYVA, Gosmusatellite alceae). Another plant sample showed the presence of agriculturally important papaya leaf crumple virus (PaLCrV, Begomovirus papayae). To our knowledge, this is the first report of RoLCuV, a novel DNA-B, PaLCrV, and HYVA infecting D. erecta variegata in Pakistan.