Revised proposal for naming geminiviruses
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Arch Virol 145/8 (2000)
Virology Division News
Revised proposal for naming geminiviruses C. M. Fauquet1, D. P. Maxwell2, B. Gronenborn3, and J. Stanley4 2
1 ILTAB/Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A. 3 CNRS, Institut des Sciences Végétales, Gif sur Yvette, France 4 John Innes Centre, Norwich, U.K.
Introduction Geminiviruses are plant viruses that belong to the family Geminiviridae and have circular, single-stranded DNA genomes packaged within geminate particles. The genome organization and biological properties of geminiviruses allow them to be divided into four genera [1, 4, 6, 11]. Those that have a monopartite genome and that are transmitted by leafhopper insect vectors to monocotyledonous plants are members of the genus Mastrevirus, of which Maize streak virus is the type species. The genus Curtovirus comprises viruses that have a monopartite genome and are transmitted by leafhoppers to dicotyledonous plants; Beet curly top virus is the type species. The genus Topocuvirus has only one member (also the type species): Tomato pseudo-curly top virus, which has a monopartite genome and is transmitted by tree hoppers to dicotyledonous plants. The fourth genus, Begomovirus, includes viruses that are transmitted by whiteflies to dicotyledonous plants; Bean golden yellow mosaic virus is the type species. These viruses have bipartite genomes (A and B components), with some exceptions (e.g., Tomato yellow leaf curl virus, Cotton leaf curl virus, Tomato leaf curl virus…) for which no B components have been found. Infection by geminiviruses can cause significant yield losses to many crop plants throughout the world [8]. Because of their economic importance and the relative ease with which their DNA genomes can be cloned, many geminiviruses are now being characterized. Yet, at present, virologists have no definitive guidelines for naming geminiviruses. Traditionally, viruses are named according to the host, the symptoms produced, and/or geographical origin (e.g., Wheat dwarf virus and African cassava mosaic virus), but it is becoming increasingly difficult or even impossible to name new geminiviruses because different species often cause similar symptoms in the same crop (e.g., Tomato yellow leaf curl viruses from Thailand, Israel, and Sardinia). Naming is especially difficult when different species infect the same crop in the same geographical region (e.g., the tomato leaf curl viruses in India). Moreover, many isolates are now being characterized within a given virus species, adding a level of complexity to the system. This complexity is compounded by the recent discovery that recombination between species of geminiviruses happens relatively frequently [7].
Virology Division News
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We present here a system for naming geminiviruses and provide a list of geminiviruses together with suggested names. This paper does not provide guidelines for identifying geminivirus species or strains; this will be done el
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