Molecular characterization of a new geminivirus isolated from tomato with curly top symptoms and development of its infectious clone

A new geminivirus was isolated from field-grown tomatoes with leaf yellowing and curly top symptoms in Fukushima, Japan in 2009–2010. Sequence comparisons of the full-length genome of the virus and other geminiviruses revealed its close relationship to common bean curly stunt virus (CBCSV), with 86.1% nucleotide sequence identity. The virus encodes six open reading frames (ORFs) that had a very high sequence identity (84.3–92.6%) with those of CBCSV, but it lacks ORF V3 . The agroinoculation of the cloned genome induced stunting on the tobacco plants, and the graft inoculation of tobacco scions onto tomato rootstock reproduced curly top symptoms. The name "tomato curly top virus" is proposed for this virus.