Identification and molecular characterization of rose leaf curl virus in ornamental pomegranate (Punica granatum L.)

Symptoms of leaf curling and yellowing, typical of begomoviruses, were observed on ornamental pomegranate plants in a park in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Leaves from symptomatic plants were collected and DNA extracted. PCR amplification with universal primers for the amplification of begomoviruses amplified an approx. 2.8 kb fragment which was cloned and sequenced. Similar amplifications with primers for begomovirus DNA B component and betasatellites were uniformly negative and no amplifications were obtained with DNA extracted from a non-symptomatic pomegranate plant. Sequence comparisons showed the cloned fragment to be an isolate of rose leaf curl virus (RoLCuV). This is the first time RoLCuV has been identified in a bushy shrub pomegranate. Sequence analysis shows the RoLCuV isolate from pomegranate to have a recombination history distinct from other RoLCV isolates.