Tomato infectious chlorosis virus causes leaf yellowing and reddening of tomato in Italy

• Published in: Phytoparasitica Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 290 - 294
• Main Authors: Vaira, A M, Accotto, G P, Vecchiati, M, Bragaloni, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Nature B.V 01-06-2002
• Subjects: Crop diseases; Lycopersicon esculentum; Plant pathology; Tomatoes
• ISSN: 0334-2123; 1876-7184
• DOI: 10.1007/BF03039998

Since autumn 2000, severe and widespread chlorosis, sometimes associated with redness, has been observed in greenhouse tomatoes in different regions of Italy. A total of 104 samples were analyzed for tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV), by a one-step RT-PCR procedure. In some areas of central Italy and Sardinia, the symptom was consistently correlated with the presence of TICV. The RT-PCR procedure enabled rapid and reliable detection of TICV from field samples. Sequence analysis of the amplified 501-bp fragment, part of the HSP70 coding region, revealed an identity of 99% with the TICV sequence in the GenBank database. A digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe was also produced and successfully tested in dot blot assays. This is the first report of TICV causing epidemics in Europe.