Tomato yellow leaf curly virus (TYLCV) (genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) has occurred epidemically and caused major losses to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops in several regions around the world.
Typical symptoms associated with TYLCV infection in tomato plants involve chlorosis, upward curling of leaflet margins, reduction in leaf area, yellowing of leaflets, and stunting of the plant. In December 2024, tomato plants were found in commercial crops in the municipality of Faxinal, state of Paraná, Brazil, with symptoms similar to those associated with TYLCV infection. It is worth noting that the presence of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), a potential vector of viruses belonging to the genus Begomovirus, had also been reported in large amount on tomato plants. Furthermore, tomatoes are produced in Faxinal basically under semi-protected environment, with an estimated area of 360 ha of screenhouses. Symptomatic tomato samples were brought to the Virology laboratory of the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Rural do Paraná/IAPAR-Emater – IDR´Paraná for analysis. Total DNA was extracted from the samples and subjected to polymerase chain reactions (PCR), using the primers pairs Pal1v1978/PAR1C496 and AV494/AC1048. Subsequently, the samples that presented positive results in the PCR reactions were submitted to genomic sequencing (Applied Biosystems ABI 3730XL DNA Analyzer, Foster City, CA, USA). In the PCR reactions, DNA fragments of 1,100 bp and 700 bp were amplified with the primers pairs Pal1v1978/PAR1C496 and AV494/AC1048, respectively, from tomato samples collected in commercial crops in the municipality of Faxinal. The genomic sequencing results revealed 97.79% similarity with the TYLCV-CJ-cgh isolate of TYLCV obtained from tomato in the city of Cheju, South Korea.
Although the presence of the virus may have been suspected previously, this is the first confirming report of the occurrence of TYLCV infecting tomatoes in Brazil. Additional studies are needed to determine the occurrence of TYLCV in other tomato-producing regions in Brazil.
Molina, Rubia & Mota, Cintia & Toledo, Gabriela & Duin, Izabela & Sugahara, Vanessa & Miguel, André & Leite, Rui. (2025). First Report of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus Infecting Tomato Plants in Brazil. 10.13140/RG.2.2.33375.78244.
Source: Research Gate
