Phylogeny of Strains of Tomato Leaf Curl Virus from Agroclimatic Zones of Gujarat

Abstract

With an increasing rate of global warming and unstable climatic conditions concerns with regards to epidemiology of plant viruses are on the rise. Studies suggest accelerating climatic changes shall severely affect the management of pest and diseases in cultivated crops. Tomato Leaf Curl Virus (TLCV) is an economically affecting viral infections of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). The disease causes severe yield loss and major economic impairment. The current study was therefore taken up to understand the influence of agro climatic zones on diversity of TLCV in Tomato plants. Samples of TLCV infected Tomato plants exhibiting varying symptoms were collected from seven different agro climatic zones of Gujarat followed by isolation of viral particles, molecular characterization and development of phylogenetic tree. Interestingly the molecular analysis of the isolated viral samples indicated little influence of climatic conditions on the types of TLCV infecting the tomato plants.