Molecular and biological characterization of sweet potato leaf curl virus (SPLCV) in Burkina Faso. Sweetpotato 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 that infect sweetpotato). Sequence analyses and phylogenetic data showed the virus was most closely related to sweet potato leaf curl virus-US (SPLCV-US), with 98% nucleotide identity. When I. setosa plants were inoculated with this new virus using infected grafts, plants showed systemic upward leaf-curling and leaf-deformation symptoms. This is the first sweepovirus reported in Burkina Faso and in West Africa and raises concern about the spread of sweepoviruses.