Molecular and biological characterization of three isolates of geminivirus infecting tomato in Guadeloupe

Since 1989, tomato fields in Guadeloupe have been infested by a geminivirus disease. Symptoms are yellow mosaic, chlorotic mottling, leaf rolling and stunting. A survey showed that the disease was present over all the island. Cloning and sequencing of an isolate lead to the identification of a bipartite geminivirus close to potato yellow mosaic virus (PYMV-G) (Polston et al, 1998). In this study, three other virus isolates were collected from tomato in Grande-Terre and on the leeward coast of Basse-Terre and from whiteflies (Bemisia argentifolii) in Grande-Terre. They were characterized biologically (mechanical and vector transmission, host range) and molecularly. PCR primers based on conserved sequences were used to amplify and sequence the intercistronic region and the N-terminal region of the coat protein gene (CP). Sequence comparisons between these isolates and the clone of PYMV-G were established in order to confirm the occurrence of PYMV in Guadeloupe. (Résumé d'auteur