Association of a Geminivirus with a Leaf Curl Disease of Sunn Hemp (Crotalaria juncea) in India

Natural occurrence of a geminivirus causing severe leaf curl disease on sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea) was recorded in India. The association of a geminivirus with the disease was demonstrated by whitefly transmission tests and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA fragments of expected sizes with three pairs of degenerate geminivirus primers. The PCR-amplified viral DNA fragments were further characterized by Southern hybridization with a geminivirus probe consisting of the cloned coat protein (CP) gene of Indian tomato leaf curl virus (ITLCV). Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of a PCR-amplified CP fragment revealed that the geminivirus from sunn hemp was different than ITLCV.