Molecular and biological characterization of sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) in Burkina Faso. Characterization of sweet potato leaf curl virus in Burkina Faso

A begomovirus infecting sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) from Burkina Faso was characterized using rolling-circle amplification followed by cloning and sequencing. Molecular analysis revealed a monopartite genomic organization typical of sweepoviruses (begomoviruses infecting sweetpotato). Sequence analyses and phylogenetic data showed the virus was most closely related to sweet potato leaf curl virus-US (SPLCV-US), with nucleotide identity of 98%. When I. setosa plants were inoculated with this new sweet potato leaf curl virus using infected grafts, the plants showed systemic upward leaf curling and leaf deformation symptoms. This is the first sweepovirus reported in Burkina Faso and in West Africa.