Geminiviruses associated with diseased tomatoes in Cuba

Abstract

Tomato plants displaying symptoms of yellowing and leaf curling were analysed for the presence of geminiviruses. Two distinct geminiviruses were present in the plants studied. One had a genome size and coat protein gene sequence similar to the Israeli strain of tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV), while the other had a smaller genome size than TYLCV that could not be amplified using primers specific for Israeli TYLCV. The presence of the Israeli strain of TYLCV has been reported in other Caribbean islands, but not in Southern Florida (USA) which is close to those islands where TYLCV has been detected. This suggests that the introduction of the Israeli strain of TYLCV to the Caribbean area may have occurred within recent times.