Complete genome sequence of a novel monopartite begomovirus infecting sweet potato in China

The complete genome sequence of a new monopartite begomovirus isolate SC-1 was obtained from sweet potato samples in Sichuan province, China. The viral genome consists of 2,764 nucleotides (nt) and encodes two open reading frames (ORFs) called AV1 and AV2 genes in the viral-sense strand and four ORFs (AC1–AC4) in the complementary-sense strand. Sequence comparisons revealed that it shared the highest level of nt sequence identity (81.2 %) with Sweet potato leaf curl Georgia virus (AF326775). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the SC-1 genome was in a separate clade from other 29 begomovirus isolates. Thus, the SC-1 isolate is a novel species according to the demarcation criteria of species in the genus Begomovirus, for which the name “Sweet potato leaf curl China Sichuan Virus” (SPLCCSV) is proposed. Recombination analysis suggests that SPLCCSV has sequences derived from recombination between Sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) isolate GZ01 (JX286653) and SPLCV isolate Merremia N4 (DQ644563).