Articles

The most economically significant and largest family of plant infectious ssDNA viruses is Geminiviridae, which causes devastating diseases in cotton, tomato, cassava and papaya crops throughout the world. Begomoviruses are very diverse (they have small genomes with ~2.6-2.8 kb in length) and evolve at high rates with high rates of mutation, recombination, and pseudorecombination, as well as interactions with betasatellites and alphasatellites. Recombination hotspots at the intergenic region, replication-associated protein and coat protein gene tend to result in epidemic strains, whereas the satellite associations tend to increase pathogenicity and adaptability. Recent developments in the high-throughput sequencing and molecular phylogenetics have shown the intricate evolution patterns, such as expansion of host range and geographic organization. Awareness of these molecular processes is critical in forecasting the viral outbreaks, developing long-term crops that develop resistance, and enhance global food security and agricultural sustainability through enhancing protection measures of crops.