Molecular characterization of viruses associated to leaf curl disease complex on zucchini squash in Iraq reveals Deng primer set could distinguish between New and Old World Begomoviruses.

The emergence of begomoviruses has led to significant losses in vegetable production in the recent years. Squash leaf curl disease (SqLCD) is caused by begomoviruses, and the infected plants show leaf curl symptoms on zucchini squash. In this study, we characterized the begomoviruses responsible for SqLCD symptoms and economic losses in zucchini major growing area near Baghdad and Babylon provinces. PCR amplification was performed to screen for begomovirus infection using Deng (a begomovirus specific) primer set. Sequence comparison confirmed the detection of two begomoviruses; Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus (ToLCPMV) and Squash leaf curl virus (SLCuV), in symptomatic zucchini samples when shared 99.14 and 99.50% maximum nucleotide (nt) identities with coat protein CP gene, respectively. All samples collected from Baghdad/Al-Jadriya were ToLCPMV infected while those collected from Babylon/Jibela were SLCuV infected. Moreover, mixed infection of the two viruses was detected in all zucchini squash samples collected from Baghdad/Yusufiyah. Evidence is provided here of the relevance of the wild species Malva neglecta and Datura stramonium as reservoir of begomoviruses that cause epedemics of leaf curl disease in zucchini squash in Iraq. Neighbor joining (NJ) Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the relatedness when diverged virus sequences in separated groups based on CP gene. The high nt identity suggests the two begomoviruses may recently be introduced to Iraq and could be a serious threatening to squash cultivation.