Biotech Updates

New Tomato Leaf Curl-Causing Virus Species Identified in India

May 15, 2009

New species of the feared begomovirus is threatening tomato crops in Patna, India. P. Kumari together with colleagues from the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, discovered a new virus similar to the Tomato leaf curl Laos virus. The new virus was said to have similar manifestation on infected plants but has a different DNA sequence from that of known begomovirus species. Diseased plants show mottling, leaf distortion, crinkling and stunting. Begomovirus infects plants such as tomatoes, beans, squash, cassava and cotton. The said virus is transmitted rapidly and efficiently through a feeder insect vector.

Details of the virus is available at: http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PDIS-93-5-0545B