Begomoviruses are globally distributed plant pathogens that significantly limit crop
production. These viruses are traditionally described according to phylogeographic …

To study the diversity of begomovirus/DNA-satellite complexes, plants of one crop species
(okra; Abelmoschus esculentus) and one weed species (Ageratum conyzoides), both with …

In plant viruses, genomic variation caused by mutation is enhanced by recombination,
pseudo-recombination and acquisition of extra genomic components. Genomic RNA …

Multi-segmented viruses often multimerize their genomic segments to ensure efficient and
stoichiometric packaging of the correct genetic cargo. In the bipartite Nodaviridae family …

Mutation, recombination and pseudo-recombination are the major forces driving the
evolution of viruses by the generation of variants upon which natural selection, genetic drift …

Highlights•Around 16% of all viral species, mostly infecting plants, are multipartite.•
Theoretical works assume a benefit of segmentation to compensate for the cost of …

Betasatellites associated with geminiviruses can be replicated promiscuously by distinct
geminiviruses but exhibit a preference for cognate helper viruses. However, the cis elements …

Begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae) are responsible for many economically important
crop diseases worldwide. The majority of these diseases are caused by bipartite …

Highlights•Viral gene amplification allows rapid adaptation, especially for large DNA
viruses.•Amplifications often incur fitness costs for viral replication.•Adaptive mutations can …