Comparison of the reaction of tomato lines to infection by tomato yellow leaf curl begomovirus in Lebanon

Tomato yellow leaf curl begomovirus (TYLCV), transmitted by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci , is epidemic in Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia. It is also reported in some European countries and the American continent. In Lebanon, it is the major limiting factor for summer and autumn production of tomato. Comparison of the nucleotide sequence in the intergenic region with other reported leaf curl viruses showed the Lebanese TYLCV isolate to be closely related to Egyptian, Israeli and Jamaican isolates (94–96% identity). However, it is not closely related to isolates from Sardinia, Spain and Thailand, or to tomato leaf curl isolates from India, Taiwan and Australia. In field and greenhouse screening tests conducted for 5 years on 67 tomato lines, several were identified as promising. TY-Carla, PSR and RS lines were among the most promising with determinate growth, while S&G 143 and the DR lines were the most promising with semi-determinate and indeterminate growth, respectively. Virus concentrations in most, but not all, tolerant tomato lines were significantly lower than in the susceptible lines. None of the lines tested was immune to the virus. A survey of TYLCV alternative hosts on at least 58 plant species, using nucleic acid hybridization, showed that Amaranthus sp., Malva sp., Sonchus oleraceus , Plantago sp., Solanum melongena , Phaseolus vulgaris and Mercurialis annua may play an important role in the epidemiology of TYLCV in Lebanon. Mercurialis annua is a newly reported host for TYLCV.