Molecular Detection and Identification of Tomato leaf curl New Delhi Virus Associated with Mosaic Disease of Luffa aegyptiaca and Coccinia grandis from Central India

Luffa aegyptica and Coccinia grandis are significant crops of the Cucurbitaceae family. These crops are highly susceptible to a notorious begomovirus namely ToLCNDV which is transmitted by Bemisia tabaci (whiteflies) through a persistent and circulative manner. Symptomatic and asymptomatic leaf samples of sponge gourd and ivy gourd were collected in the Bhopal district and confirmed for begomovirus disease by PCR through a begomovirus-specific primer. The full-length viral DNA-A genome was amplified using total DNA and begomovirus-specific primers through a PCR. The PCR amplicons were sequenced and the consensus sequence data of three identical sequences were assembled into a DNA-A genome and data deposited in the NCBI GenBank database (accession numbers PP530350, PP530351 on sponge gourd, and PP505781 on ivy gourd). The sequence analysis of the complete DNA-A (PP530350 and PP505781) genome sequence of the virus isolate under this study, showed the highest 95-98% sequence identities and close phylogenetic relationships with Tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus. The findings from this investigation are essential for understanding the biology and epidemiology of ToLCNDV and will contribute in the development of future disease management strategies.