Abstract
Emerging pests and diseases are a major threat to food production worldwide. In a recent survey, Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) was identified on tomato crops in the Limpopo province of South Africa and a first report of the disease was published. In this follow-up study, the full genome sequence of a tomato-infecting isolate of ToTV from South Africa was elucidated. High-throughput sequencing was used to generate the full genome of ToTV infecting tomato crops in South Africa. The longest contig obtained for the RNA-1 and RNA-2 genome of ToTV was comprised of 7420 and 5381 nucleotides (nt), respectively. Blast analysis of the RNA-1 sequence of ToTV from South Africa (ToT-186) matched 99% to a Spanish and Polish isolate; the RNA-2 segment of ToTV from South Africa (ToT-186) matched 99% to ToTV isolates from Italy and Poland, respectively. The information presented in this study will go a long way towards better understanding the emergence and spread of ToTV and devising sustainable management of ToTV diseases.
Highlights
Emerging pests and disease have destroyed agricultural crops all over the world
Many of the tomato crops exhibiting torradovirus-like symptoms were concentrated in the the yield and quality of tomatoes
Symptom severity was heightened in areas located in the northern parts of South Africa exhibited symptoms such as stunting and leaf deformation. (Figure 1D)
Summary
More than fifteen years ago, local farmers in the city of Murcia (located in the southeastern parts of Spain) observed severe necrosis on the leaves and fruit of tomato crops. These symptoms later became known as “torrado” disease which was coined by local Spanish farmers describing the “burnt-like” effect of the disease in tomato fields. A subsequent study by Verbeek et al [1] provided a detailed analysis of a new picorna-like virus infecting tomatoes which they termed “Tomato torrado virus” This newly discovered species was shown to display several characteristics similar to the Sequivirus, Sadwavirus, and Cheravirus genera in the Sequiviridae family, sequence characteristics distinguished Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) as a member of a new plant virus genus [1]. ToTV is the type member of the genus Torradovirus in the family
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