High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals Regional Diversification of Cucurbit-Infecting Begomoviruses in Eastern Saudi Arabia.

ABSTRACT: In Saudi Arabia, cucurbit crops such as zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) and snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina) are major vegetables and key dietary components, yet their associated viral threats remain poorly understood. We surveyed symptomatic cucurbit samples from greenhouses and open fields in the Al-Ahsa and Qatif regions. The detection methods employed included PCR, RCA, and Illumina NGS. Based on nucleotide sequence comparisons and maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis, we identified three viruses, i.e., TYLCV, WmCSV, and ToLCPalV, present as both single and mixed infections. Sequence analyses revealed a novel strain, TYLCV-Hasa, representing a distinct lineage of TYLCV. Analysis revealed that recombination occurred solely in the DNA-A components of the identified viru

SUBMITTER: Sattar MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12846466 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature