A new, previously undescribed monopartite begomovirus infecting Premna serratifolia in Vietnam

The complete genome sequence of a monopartite begomovirus isolate infecting Creek Premna (Premna serratifolia L.) plants that exhibited leaf curl, vein swelling, and enation symptoms in Nha Trang, Vietnam, was cloned and sequenced. It comprises 2,753 nucleotides (JQ793786) and has a typical organization of begomoviruses DNA-A with AV1 and AV2 open reading frames (ORFs) in the viral-sense strand and AC1, AC2, AC3, AC4 and AC5 ORFs in the complementary-sense strand. The full-length genome sequence of the isolate (clone VN7) shared the highest level of nucleotide sequence identity (83 %) with the isolate IN:Pusa:Tb:10 of tobacco leaf curl Pusa virus (HQ180391). The phylogenetic relationship of VN7 to other begomoviruses was also investigated. VN7 grouped most closely with a clade containing begomoviruses from China, India and Japan. According to the current taxonomic criteria for the genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae, the isolate VN7 represents a new species, herein named “Premna leaf curl virus” (PrLCV).