Chinese squash leaf curl virus: a new whitefly-transmitted geminivirus

Coat protein (CP) gene of the Chinese squash leaf curl virus (SqLCV-C) was amplified through PCR, cloned and completely sequenced. Based on the comparisons at the levels of both CP gene nucleotide and CP-deduced amino acid sequences with other geminiviruses, SqLCV-C is confirmed to be distinct from the American squash leaf curl virus (SqLCV-E). It is a new geminivirus transmitted by whitefly Bemisia tabaci, which infects dicotyledonous plants and is more closely related to the Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV).