Objective: Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus (ToLCPMV) is a destructive Begomovirus with a bipartite. Despite reports of ToLCPMV in certain Iranian provinces, there is currently no information regarding the presence and genetic diversity of this virus in cucumber fields and greenhouses in Khouzestan province. Therefore, this study aims to detect ToLCPMV and determine the phylogenetic relationships of its isolates in this region.
Method: To detect and investigate the genetic diversity of ToLCPMV, suspected plants were sampled in spring and summer 2023. Using degenerate primers for whitefly-transmitted Begomoviruses, a fragment related to the pre-coat protein gene was amplified. To study the viral species precisely and confirm their nature, the movement protein gene was amplified, and a phylogenetic tree was constructed. Additionally, a comparison matrix was drawn with sequences received from GeneBank.
Results: The amplification of the studied genes indicated infection with Begomoviruses. Analysis and determination of relationships based on two gene regions showed that the Andimeshk, Dezful, and Soush isolates were placed in the Iranian isolate group and had the highest genetic similarity to the Jiroft isolates on the cucumber host. Also, the results showed the three mentioned isolates have a high similarity at the nucleotide level and showed the highest similarity with isolate FJ660426.1 (cucumber, Jiroft with 96.39%), isolate FJ660435.1 (cucumber, Jiroft with 98.30%), and isolate OP810507.1 (tomato, Iraq with 98.87%).
Conclusions: This is the first report of the widespread occurrence of ToLCPMV in cucumber-cultivating areas in the north of Khouzestan province.