Molecular Characterization and Pathogenicity of Watermelon Isolates of Begomovirus cucurbitachinaense

Squash leaf curl China virus (SLCCNV) belongs to the species <i>Begomovirus cucurbitachinaense</i> in the genus <i>Begomovirus</i> and can infect some Cucurbitaceae crops except for watermelon (<i>Citrullus lanatus</i>). In this study, watermelon plants showing symptoms typical to begomovirus infection in field were observed in Zhejiang Province of China, and SLCCNV presence was identified through PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS). The pairwise sequence identity of the DNA-A genome shows that SLCCNV watermelon isolate belongs to the SLCCNV/CN strain and shares 96% nucleotide identity with the previously sequenced SLCCNV/CN. An infectious clone of SLCCNV watermelon isolate was constructed using the tandem repeat fragment method. Through agrobacterium-mediated inoculation, the clone could induce systemic infection with typical symptoms in watermelon, melon (<i>Cucumis melo</i>), squash (<i>Cucurbita pepo</i>), pumpkin (<i>Cucurbita maxima</i>), wax gourd (<i>Benicasa hispida</i>), cucumber (<i>Cucumis sativus</i>), and <i>N. benthamiana</i>. It was further demonstrated that the progeny virions derived from the cloned watermelon isolate could be transmitted by whitefly rather than the sap. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a natural infection of SLCCNV on watermelon in China, and the first complete report on the molecular characteristics and pathogenicity of watermelon-infecting SLCCNV in the world.