A new strain of Indian cassava mosaic virus causes a mosaic disease in the biodiesel crop Jatropha curcas.

Jatropha curcas mosaic disease is a newly emerging disease that challenges the productivity of a prospective biofuel crop, J. curcas. The aetiology of this disease has not been resolved. Here, we report the complete nucleotide sequences of a Jatropha virus isolated from Dharwad, Southern India. Phylogenetic analysis of the virus genome suggests it is a new strain of Indian cassava mosaic virus. Agroinfiltration of the two cloned viral DNA components produced systemic infection and typical mosaic symptoms in J. curcas, thereby fulfilling Koch's postulates. The availability of infectious clones will provide a valuable tool to screen J. curcas cultivars for disease resistance and facilitate the generation of virus-resistant J. curcas plants by transgenic technology.