Lapidot, M., Institute of Plant Sciences, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Gelbart, D., Institute of Plant Sciences, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Gal-On, A., Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Sela, N., Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Anfoka, G., Department of Biotechnology, Al-Balqa' Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
Ahmed, F.H., Department of Biotechnology, Al-Balqa' Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
Abou-Jawada, Y., Department of Biotechnology, Al-Balqa' Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
Sobh, H., Department of Biotechnology, Al-Balqa' Applied University, Al-Salt, Jordan
Mazyad, H., Plant Pathology Research Institute, ARC, P.O. Box 12619, Giza, Egypt
Aboul-Ata, A.-A.E., Plant Pathology Research Institute, ARC, P.O. Box 12619, Giza, Egypt
El-Attar, A.K., Plant Pathology Research Institute, ARC, P.O. Box 12619, Giza, Egypt
Ali-Shtayeh, M.S., Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Unit, Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center (BERC), P.O.B. 696, Til-Nablus, Palestine
Jamous, R.M., Biodiversity and Biotechnology Research Unit, Biodiversity and Environmental Research Center (BERC), P.O.B. 696, Til-Nablus, Palestine
Polston, J.E., Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
Duffy, S., Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, Rutgers, State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, United States

Background: In the early 2000s, two cucurbit-infecting begomoviruses were introduced into the eastern Mediterranean basin: the Old World Squash leaf curl virus (SLCV) and the New World Watermelon chlorotic stunt virus (WmCSV). These viruses have been emerging in parallel over the last decade in Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. Methods: We explored this unique situation by assessing the diversity and biogeography of the DNA-A component of SLCV and WmCSV in these five countries. Results: There was fairly low sequence variation in both begomovirus species (SLCV π = 0.0077; WmCSV π = 0.0066). Both viruses may have been introduced only once into the eastern Mediterranean basin, but once established, these viruses readily moved across country boundaries. SLCV has been introduced at least twice into each of all five countries based on the absence of monophyletic clades. Similarly, WmCSV has been introduced multiple times into Jordan, Israel and Palestine. Conclusions: We predict that uncontrolled movement of whiteflies among countries in this region will continue to cause SLCV and WmCSV migration, preventing strong genetic differentiation of these viruses among these countries. © 2014 Lapidot et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.