Prevalence of chilli leaf curl virus and tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus with chilli leaf curl disease in India

The members of the family, Geminiviridae, cause severe diseases in a wide range of economically important crops across continents. In the Indian sub-continent, chilli leaf curl disease (ChiLCD) caused by begomoviruses has emerged as a major constraint for chilli cultivation. Here, we report the identification of 16 begomoviruses and 6 betasatellites with ChiLCD from 16 locations covering 7 states in India. In the regions surveyed, chilli leaf curl virus and tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus were identified as the pre-dominantly distributed begomovirus species. Similarly, tomato leaf curl Bangladesh betasatellites and tomato leaf curl Joybebpur betsatellites were detected in the samples collected from 6 out of 16 locations. However, we have failed to detect any DNA-B component in these samples. Further, inter-species recombination has possibly contributed to the emergence of these cloned viral components. This study further emphasized the current status on the distribution of begomoviruses and betasatellites with ChiLCD in the major chilli-growing regions of India. This epidemiological data might help in devising efficient antiviral strategies to curb this disease.