Both malvaceous and non-malvaceous betasatellites are associated with two wild cotton species grown under field conditions in Pakistan.

Betasatellites are symptom-modulating DNA satellites that are associated with the majority of monopartite begomoviruses in the Old World. Betasatellites show both geographical and host-specific relatedness; those isolated from malvaceous hosts form one group and those isolated from non-malvaceous hosts form the second group. Real-time PCR based estimation of begomovirus DNA in cotton species grown in a living herbarium under field conditions at the Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI), Multan was carried out to understand their role in the ongoing cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) epidemic in Pakistan. The levels of begomovirus DNA in cotton species from the herbarium was found to be several folds lower than symptomatic plants of commercially grown cotton. Among herbarium species Gossypium anomalum, G. robinsoni and G. somalense contained higher levels of begomovirus DNA in comparison to other wild species. Characterization of betasatellites from two cotton species (G. anomalum and G. somalense) was carried out to understand their role in accumulation of begomovirus DNA. Here, we show that the two wild species of cotton are associated with Cotton leaf Multan betasatellite (CLCuMB), a malvaceous betasatellite associated with CLCuD, as well as Chili leaf curl betasatellite, a non-malvaceous betasatellite not previously identified in a malvaceous host. This is the first evidence of the presence of a non-malvaceous betasatellite in malvaceous hosts.