Genome affinities and epitope profiles of whitefly‐transmitted geminiviruses from the Americas

The relationships among fifteen isolates of whitefly‐transmitted geminiviruses (WTGs) from North, Central and South America and six from other continents were assessed (a) in nucleic acid hybridisation tests with sulphonated DNA probes for eight of the viruses, and/or (b) in triple‐antibody‐sandwich ELISA with panels of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to particles of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and Indian cassava mosaic virus (ICMV). Probes specific for DNA‐A of four American viruses, abutilon mosaic (AbMV), bean golden mosaic (BGMV), squash leaf curl (SLCV) and tomato golden mosaic (TGMV), detected virtually all the American viruses but reacted weakly if at all with ICMV, ACMV or tomato yellow leaf curl virus from Thailand (TYLCV‐T). Conversely, the probe for ACMV DNA‐A did not detect any of the American viruses, and that for TYLCV‐T DNA‐A reacted weakly with SLCV and TGMV0020but did not detect the others. In contrast, probes specific for DNA‐B of the four American viruses or ACMV detected only the homologous virus, except for slight reactions between the AbMV DNA‐B probe and both chino del tomate virus (CdTV)‐DNA and SLCV‐DNA. However, a probe for DNA‐B of bean calico mosaic virus (BCMoV) reacted weakly with BGMV‐PR DNA, and a probe for DNA‐B of CdTV from Mexico detected several American viruses. Six out of 17 MAbs specific for ACMV and six out of 10 MAbs specific for ICMV reacted with one or other of the 14 American virus isolates tested. Two and‐ACMV MAbs reacted with all, and one anti‐ACMV MAb and two anti‐ICMV MAbs reacted with nearly all the American viruses, one anti‐ACMV MAb reacted with about half the American viruses and six other MAbs reacted with only one or two of them. Of the American viruses, CdTV and AbMV were the least closely related to the others. The epitope profiles of BCMoV, BGMV, cotton leaf crumple virus, serrano golden mosaic virus and SLCV were virtually indistinguishable. TGMV, potato yellow mosaic virus (PYMV) and an euphorbia virus had profiles intermediate between those of the BGMV cluster and AbMV‐CdTV. In general, the epitope profiles and the results of hybridisation tests with DNA‐A probes show that the similarities among the American viruses are greater than those between the American viruses and the viruses from other continents; the hybridisation tests with DNA‐B probes show that substantial differences exist between individual American viruses. In America, geminivirus evolution seems to have proceeded convergently from different progenitor viruses, or divergently from one ancestral form, with DNA‐B diverging to a greater extent than DNA‐A and its particle‐protein gene.