Leaf curl symptoms that are reminiscent of begomovirus (genus
Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) infection were observed
widespread in the tomato crop during the early fall 2005 through
the spring 2006 growing seasons in Sinaloa State, Mexico.
Symptoms were widespread in three major valleys (Culiacan,
Guasave, and Los Mochis) that are largely dedicated to fresh-
market tomato production for the U.S. market from October to
June. Symptoms included stunting of leaves, shortened
internodes, distortion of leaf margins, and green vein banding.
Fruit set was reduced significantly (as much as 90%) on the
portion of the plant that developed above the point of symptom
expression. Tomato fields were heavily infested with the B
biotype of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) vector and no
other insect vectors were noted in the fields. Total DNA was
extracted from six symptomatic tomato plants (two from each
valley) and used as template to amplify, clone, and sequence the
core region of the begomovirus CP. BLAST analysis of