Molecular identification of Squash leaf curl China virus associated with mosaic disease of Cucurbita maxima L. (pumpkin) from Madhya Pradesh

An emerging disease known as Squash leaf curl China virus has been identified in the Madhya Pradesh region. This viral disease is specifically associated with the occurrence of yellow vein mosaic disease in pumpkin plants. Leaf samples exhibiting symptoms of pumpkin plants were collected from various locations within the Bhopal district. To confirm the presence of begomovirus disease, a PCR analysis was conducted using a specific primer targeting the coat-protein gene of begomoviruses. All five collected samples underwent successful amplification, resulting in the expected amplicons of approximately 800 base pairs associated with begomovirus. Subsequently, these amplicons were purified and subjected to sequencing to identify the specific begomovirus species associated with the yellow vein mosaic disease observed in the pumpkin plants. The consensus nucleotide sequences obtained from the sequencing analysis were submitted to the NCBI. These sequences have been assigned the following accession numbers: OQ427110, OQ320771, OQ320773, OQ320772, and OQ320775. The understudy begomovirus isolates showed the highest 92–94% nucleotide sequence identities and close phylogenetic relationships with the Squash leaf curl China virus. This was the first record of the Squash leaf curl China virus associated with the yellow vein mosaic disease of pumpkin in Madhya Pradesh.