Genetic variability of Cotton leaf curl betasatellite in Northern India

Cotton is an important crop and its production is affected by various disease pathogens. Monopartite begomovirus associated betasatellites cause Cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) in Northern India. In order to access the occurrence and genetic variability of Cotton leaf curl betasatellites, an extensive field survey was conducted in states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. We selected the betasatellite sequence for analysis as they are reported as important for disease severity and sequence variability. Based on the field observations, the disease incidence ranged from 30% to 80% during the survey. Full genome and DNA β were amplified from various samples while no amplicon was obtained in some samples. The nucleotide sequence homology ranged from 90.0% to 98.7% with Cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV), 55.2–55.5% with Bhendi yellow vein mosaic virus, 55.8% with Okra leaf curl virus and 51.70% with Tomato leaf curl virus isolates. The lowest similarity (47.8%) was found in CLCuV-Sudan isolate. Phylogenetic analysis showed that analyzed isolates formed a close cluster with various CLCuV isolates reported earlier. The analysis results show sequence variation in Cotton leaf curl betasatellite which could be the result of recombination. The results obtained by genome amplification and sequence variability indicate that some new variants are circulating and causing leaf curl disease in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.