Diversity and Distribution of Viruses Infecting Wild and Domesticated Phaseolus spp. in the Mesoamerican Center of Domestication

Viruses are an important disease source for beans. In order to evaluate the impact of virus disease on Phaseolus biodiversity, we determined the identity and distribution of viruses infecting wild and domesticated Phaseolus spp. in the Mesoamerican Center of Domestication (MCD) and the western state of Nayarit, Mexico. We used small RNA sequencing and assembly to identify complete or near-complete sequences of forty-seven genomes belonging to nine viral species of five genera, as well as partial sequences of two putative new endornaviruses and five badnavirus- and pararetrovirus-like sequences. The prevalence of viruses in domesticated beans was significantly higher than in wild beans (97% vs. 19%; p < 0.001), and all samples from domesticated beans were positive for at least one virus species. In contrast, no viruses were detected in 80–83% of the samples from wild beans. The Bean common mosaic virus and Bean common mosaic necrosis virus were the most prevalent viruses in wild and domesticated beans. Nevertheless, Cowpea mild mottle virus, transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, has the potential to emerge as an important pathogen because it is both seed-borne and a non-persistently transmitted virus. Our results provide insights into the distribution of viruses in cultivated and wild Phaseolus spp. and will be useful for the identification of emerging viruses and the development of strategies for bean viral disease management in a center of diversity.