Diversity of geminiviruses and impacts on global agriculture

The family Geminiviridae comprises over 500 species, and its diversity is now known to be much greater than recognized previously. The relatively small genome of geminiviruses, 2.5–3.8 kb, encodes proteins with various molecular functions. Geminiviruses cause significant agricultural losses not only from yellow leaf curl of tomatoes in Japan, but also from decreased yield and quality of other important crops, especially in tropical and subtropical developing countries, causing great concern over food security and economic growth. In this review, I discuss the diversity and taxonomic classification of geminiviruses and examples of the most significant agricultural impact.