SHORT COMMUNICATION Identification of pedilanthus leaf curl virus and associated betasatellite infecting turnip in Pakistan Samrah Munir 1 & Muhammad Khurshid 1 & Hira Kanwal 1 & Mujahid Hussain 1 & Muhammad N. Sattar 2 & Irfan Ali 3 & Atiq-ur Rehman 4 & Zafar Iqbal 5 # Società Italiana di Patologia Vegetale (S.I.Pa.V.) 2018 Abstract Complete begomovirus and betasatellite genomes were isolated from turnip (Brassica rapa) plants exhibiting leaf crumpling symptoms in Pakistan. In this study, two complete begomovirus genomes and one betasatellite molecule were cloned, sequenced and characterized. The identified begomovirus isolates were 100% identical to each other and shared their highest nucleotide (nt) sequence identity at 94.4 and 92.7% with pedilanthus leaf curl virus (PeLCV) and tomato leaf curl Kerala virus (ToLCKeV), respectively. However, in phylogenetic analysis both isolates grouped separately in the ToLCKeV clade. The detailed phyloge- netic and recombination analysis showed that the isolates have unique and recombinant nature thus, representing new isolates of PeLCV from turnip in Pakistan. The cloned betasatellite isolate (1371 nt in length) was a non-recombinant molecule and shared highest nt sequence identity (89.8%) with tobacco leaf curl betasatellite (TbLCB). This is the first report of a unique isolate of PeLCV associated with TbLCB infecting B. rapa in Pakistan. The present study extends our knowledge about the current diversity of PeLCV in the important crops. Keywords Brassica rapa . Begomovirus . Betasatellite . Recombination Whitefly-vectored begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae) are important phytopathogens in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world (Brown et al. 2015). Begomoviruses have a circular, single-stranded (css) DNA genome encapsidated in twinned quasi-icosahederal (geminate) particles (Böttcher et al. 2004; Zhang et al. 2001). They have either a bipartite genome consisting of two equally sized (ca. 2600 nucleotides) components (DNA-A and DNA-B), or a monopartite genome having a single com- ponent, homologue of DNA-A. In the Old World, monopartite begomoviruses are most prevalent and are usually associated with the additional cssDNA-satellite molecules, including alphasatellites (Briddon et al. 2004) and betasatellites (Briddon et al. 2002). Betasatellites (family Tolecusatellitidae) are ca. 1350 nt in length and depend on their helper virus for replication, encapsidation, insect transmission and in planta move- ment. Besides their role in the symptom modulation, betasatellites are also vital for the successful infection by their helper begomovirus. On the other hand, alphasatellites are capable of autonomous replication and are not accredited for any pivotal function for the helper begomovirus. From the last few decades, begomoviruses have shown extensive proliferation and extension in their host range that can be exacerbated by mutation, Samrah Munir and Muhammad Khurshid contributed equally to this work. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-018-0079-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Zafar Iqbal zafariqbal2009@gmail.com; zafar.iqbal@ufl.edu 1 Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam campus, P.O. Box 54590, Lahore, Pakistan 2 Department of Environment and Natural Resources, College of Agriculture and Food Science, King Faisal University, Box 400, Alhasa 3192, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 3 Centre of Agricultural Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan 4 Agricultural Biotechnology Division, National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE), Faisalabad, Pakistan 5 Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA Journal of Plant Pathology https://doi.org/10.1007/s42161-018-0079-x