Further details on tomato yellow leaf curl bigeminivirus in Spain
Since 1992, in southern Spain, outbreaks of tomato yellow leaf curl bigeminivirus (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) have been observed in greenhouse and outdoor tomatoes (EPPO RS 93/026). The nucleotide sequences of two tomato yellow leaf curl bigeminivirus (TYLCV) isolates from this region were determined and it was shown that these isolates were closely related to isolates from Italy, suggesting the existence of a geographical cluster of closely related TYLCV isolates in the Western Mediterranean Basin. In June 1997, new and unusually severe symptoms of stunting, yellowing and curling of leaflet margins, with a marked reduction in size, were observed in some tomato plants grown in a greenhouse in Almería. Tomato plants showing milder symptoms similar to those previously described in this region were also present. By using molecular techniques, it was found that the unusually severe symptoms are associated with an isolate of TYLCV almost identical (99% similarity) to TYLCV-Is (isolate from Israel), which coexists in the field with the milder TYLCV isolates previously reported in this area. The authors noted that TYLCV-Is has also been reported from Portugal, and that it is its first report in Spain.
Sources
Navas-Castillo, J.; Sánchez-Campos, S.; Díaz, J.A.; Moriones, E. (1997) First report of tomato yellow leaf curl virus-Is in Spain: coexistence of two different geminiviruses in the same epidemic outbreak.
Plant Disease, 81(12), p 1461.