Molecular characterization of Alternanthera yellow vein virus:: a new Begomovirus species infecting Alternanthera philoxeroides

A virus isolate designated Hn51 was obtained in 2004 from Alternanthera philoxeroides with yellow vein symptoms in Danzhou, Hainan Province, China. A specific 500 bp product was consistently detected in total DNA extracts, amplified with universal primers for members of the genus Begomovirus. The complete nucleotide sequence of the Hn51 DNA-A like molecule was determined to be 2745 nucleotides and most closely related to that of Ageratum yellow vein virus (65.2% sequence identity). The molecular data show that the isolate Hn51 is a new Begomovirus species, for which the name Alternanthera yellow vein virus is proposed. This is the first report of a begomovirus infecting an aquatic plant (the GenBank accession number of the sequence reported in this study is AM050736).