Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus: an emerging begomovirus threatening tomato and cucurbit production.
Roy A, Kaur P, Bhattacharjee S, Hallan V
Crop Improvement
Tomatoes and cucumbers from South Asian farms are increasingly being wiped out by a whitefly-carried virus that crosses borders easily and can destroy an entire harvest before farmers realize what hit them.
A virus first spotted in northern India is spreading rapidly through South Asia and the Middle East, attacking tomato and cucumber plants by making their leaves curl, stopping them from growing properly, and causing flowers to drop off before any fruit can form. It hitches rides on tiny insects called whiteflies, which makes it very hard to contain. Scientists have written the first big summary of everything we know about this virus and are exploring high-tech tools like gene editing to help stop it.
Key Findings
ToLCPalV has expanded its host range well beyond tomatoes to include cucumbers, legumes, and other unrelated crops, demonstrating broad ecological versatility and transboundary spread potential.
Flower abortion is among the most damaging symptoms, contributing to drastic yield losses and occasional total crop failure across affected farms.
This review is the first comprehensive overview of ToLCPalV, consolidating scattered research on its genomic structure, epidemiology, and management options including RNAi, CRISPR, and Ty-gene-mediated resistance.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A fast-spreading plant virus called Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus (ToLCPalV), transmitted by whiteflies, is devastating tomato and cucurbit crops across South Asia and the Middle East, causing leaf curling, stunted growth, flower abortion, and in severe cases total crop failure. This first comprehensive review synthesizes what is known about the virus and evaluates control strategies including CRISPR and RNA-based approaches.
Abstract Preview
Tomato leaf curl Palampur virus (ToLCPalV), a bipartite begomovirus first reported in Himachal Pradesh, India, has emerged as a major phytopathological threat to tomato and cucurbit cultivation acr...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...
The tomato is a plant whose fruit is an edible berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originated from western South America, and may have been domesticated there, in Mexico, or in Central America. Th...