Tomato yellow leaf curl Reunion virus: a novel tomato-infecting monopartite begomovirus from Reunion Island

TL;DR

A new virus, tomato yellow leaf curl Reunion virus, was discovered in Reunion Island and is closely related to other begomoviruses that infect tomatoes.

Contribution

The paper presents the first complete genome sequence of a novel monopartite begomovirus from Reunion Island.

Findings

TYLCREV is a new monopartite begomovirus most closely related to tomato yellow leaf curl virus.

The TYLCREV genome shows evidence of recombination between TYLCV and begomoviruses from Madagascar.

The discovery highlights the need for surveillance and risk assessment of TYLCREV in Reunion and beyond.

Abstract

This is the first description of the complete genome sequence of a new monopartite begomovirus isolated from tomato leaves with symptoms of tomato (yellow) leaf curl disease collected on Reunion Island, for which we propose the name "tomato yellow leaf curl Reunion virus" (TYLCREV). Phylogenetic analysis showed that TYLCREV belongs to the Old World monopartite begomoviruses and is most closely related to tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV). The genome of TYLCREV displays evidence of interspecies recombination and is composed of a portion (52%) that is closely related to TYLCV (>97.6% sequence identity) and a portion (48%) that is closely related to begomoviruses that have been found in tomato plants in Madagascar (> 91.6% sequence identity). The discovery of TYLCREV in diseased tomato plants in Reunion calls for epidemiological surveillance and further investigations to assess the prevalence and risks associated to this new virus in Reunion and beyond.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00705-025-06345-y.

Figures