Skip to main content
ISMPMI Congress 2025 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Poster

Session: Session 1 Presenting Authors at Posters (Evens)

P-238 - Decryption of the tomato circulome upon geminivirus infection reveals novel circular DNA elements

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
09:55 - 11:30  
Location: Confex Hall 3
Plant-virus Interactions (incl. Viromes, Evolution & Vectors)

Geminiviridae is the main family causing emerging viral diseases in crops worldwide. In 2018, a virus outbreak in tomato crops in Morelos, Mexico, was linked to geminivirus infection. Long-read sequencing was used to investigate the circular DNA molecules present in the geminivirus complex, as well as those derived from the tomato genome. The initial investigation identified tomato severe leaf curl virus (ToSLCV), tomato golden mottle virus (ToGMoV), and tomato chino La Paz virus (ToChLPV) as the principal pathogenic agents associated with tomato yellow leaf curl disease. Moreover, the Guatemala whitefly alphasatellites (WAG-1, WAG-2) and circular DNA subgenomes of ToSLCV were identified. CIDER-Seq also allowed us to identify the presence of eccDNAs (extrachromosomal circular DNAs) originating from the plant genome. Preliminary results indicate that the eccDNAs come from all 12 chromosomes of the host plant genome and might have a potential anti-viral role. Additionally, the presence of repetitive elements may hint at the movement of transposable elements through the eccDNAs. Our findings indicate that geminivirus infections are more complex than previously thought. The study of the plant circulome will provide insight into the viral infection process and the possible role of eccDNAs molecules therein.