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Journal of Virology, June 2007, p. 5902-5907, Vol. 81, No. 11
0022-538X/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JVI.02431-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genetic Structure and Population Variability of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl China Virus

Linmei Ge, Jiangtao Zhang, Xueping Zhou,^* and Hongye Li^*

Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310029, China

Received 5 November 2006/ Accepted 11 March 2007

Geminiviruses have circular single-stranded DNA genomes and are important pathogens in tropical and subtropical regions, but their population diversity and variability are poorly understood. Here, we have investigated variations accumulating in Tomato yellow leaf curl China virus (TYLCCNV), a geminivirus in the genus Begomovirus of the family Geminiviridae. The population variation was analyzed in a naturally infected tomato (Solanum lycopersicom) plant and in Nicotiana benthamiana and tomato plants experimentally infected with a swarm of TYLCCNV DNA clones to provide an identical sequence for initiation of infection. Our results demonstrate that the population of TYLCCNV in a naturally infected tomato plant was genetically heterogeneous and that rapid mutation occurred in the populations amplified from N. benthamiana and tomato plants that had been infected with cloned DNA. This feature of the population of TYLCCNV in these plants consisted of the consensus sequence and a pool of mutants that are not identical but are closely related to the consensus sequence, and it coincides with the quasispecies concept described for many RNA viruses. The mutation frequency was circa 10^–4 in N. benthamiana and tomato at 60 days postinoculation, a value comparable to that reported for plant RNA viruses. The quasispecies-like nature of the TYLCCNV populations suggested that TYLCCNV is capable of rapid evolution and adaptation in response to changing agricultural practices.

Published ahead of print on 21 March 2007.

Present address: Institute of Food Processing, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou, 310021, People's Republic of China.

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