Molecular characterization of a distinct begomovirus infecting Allamanda cathartica in Guangdong, China

Virus isolate G10 was obtained from diseased allamanda plants showing leaf curl symptoms in Guangdong, China. The full-length nucleotide sequence of a DNA-A-like molecule of G10 was cloned and sequenced; it comprises 2755 nucleotides and has a typical begomovirus genome organization with six conserved open reading frames. When compared with the DNA-A sequences of other begomoviruses, the complete nucleotide sequence of DNA-A of G10 had the highest sequence identity (81.2%) to tomato leaf curl Guangdong virus (ToLCGuV) isolate G2. This is less than the 89% identity in the complete genome that has been defined as the threshold value for demarcation of species in the genus Begomovirus. The molecular data show that isolate G10 from allamanda in Guangdong, China is a distinct Begomovirus species, for which the name Allamanda leaf curl virus (AlLCV) is proposed.