Occurrence of Cassava Mosaic Begomovirus New Species and Ageratum Leaf Curl Cameroon Virus on Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) in Togo

Cassava mosaic disease caused by the whitefly-transmitted begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae) is a major threat to cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production, which can be intercropped with other plants such as pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The aim of this study is to identify cassava begomoviruses on other crops in cassava intercropping systems. Thus, foliar samples showing typical symptoms of virus diseases in cassava intercropping systems were collected from pepper and submitted to PCR analysis and direct sequencing. Three begomovirus species ACMV, EACMV and ALCCMV were identified and characterized in samples. Isolates of these species shared respectively 90% - 93%, 74% and 80% nucleotide identities with begomoviruses. These findings show that cassava begomoviruses can infect other crops and will help in understanding the epidemiology related to whitefly-transmitted begomoviruses in cassava intercropping systems.