Identification of tomato leaf curl virus infecting Acalypha indica: An ethnomedicinal weed in north-eastern Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

During an extensive survey of viral disease on medicinal plants in the summer season of 2011–2012 in different localities of north-eastern Uttar Pradesh, a variety of symptoms were recorded on Acalypha indica plants. The infected plants showed yellow-green mosaic symptoms followed by yellow patches intermingled with normal green. Suspected infected plants were examined by electron microscopy and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using CRv301 and CRc1152 primer pairs. The electron micrographs prepared with a leaf-dip method revealed the presence of geminate particles of size 20 nm in diameter. PCR products of the expected size ~870 bp, were obtained from Acalypha samples. The results of the PCR investigation revealed that the Acalypha plant showing yellow mosiac was positive for Tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV). The virus isolate was identified as ToLCV of genus Begomovirus and family Geminiviridae. This is the first report of occurrence of ToLCV on A. indica from India on the basis of symptomatology, particle morphology and PCR analysis.