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GFMM desk: A case of ToBRFV virus known as tomato virus has been found at a French farm site in Brittany. French farming minister, Didier Guillaume, told BFM TV on Tuesday (Feb 18,2020), adding that measures were underway to destroy the contaminated crop.
The tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is harmless to humans but it can destroy whole areas of production.
About ToBRFV virus
There are several tobamoviruses, including Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) and Tomato Mosaic Virus (ToMV), in addition to ToBRFV that infect tomato. However, one of the distinguishing and problematic characteristics of ToBRFV is its ability to overcome all known genetic resistances in tomato, including the Tm-22 gene, and cause severe fruit symptoms on otherwise resistant tomato varieties (see images page 3). Pepper is another primary host for ToBRFV. The L genes for resistance to TMV and PMMoV (Pepper mild mottle virus) in pepper currently seem to hold up to ToBRFV. Peppers without the resistance gene(s) are highly susceptible to the virus (see images page 3). In both tomato and susceptible pepper, mechanical transmission of the virus occurs extremely easily. Therefore, caution is advised in order to help avoid the possible transfer of the virus from infected to healthy plants. This commonly occurs via mechanical means such as touching and manipulation of infected plants. The virus can be spread between pepper and tomato plants, as well as plants of the same crop type, especially in transplant productions or in crop production systems in which plants are regularly handled. The virus can also spread via infected fruits. ToBRFV is similar to other tobamoviruses in that the virus particles are long, symmetrical rods. Therefore, it cannot be distinguished by observation by electron microscopy. It also has many other characteristics similar to those of other tobamoviruses, including being very stable and very infectious.
ToBRFV has been confirmed in the United States (California), Mexico, Germany, Italy (Sicily), Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan and Turkey. Likely occurrences have been reported but not confirmed in Chile, Ethiopia, Sudan and the Netherlands.
Source: Online/SZK
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