First Report of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus-Israel Species Infecting Tomato, Pepper and Bean in Tunisia

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus disease (TYLCVD) has been observed in Tunisia for more than 20 years. Until year 2004, only the Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus-Sicily (TYLCSV-[Sic]) was detected in tomato, pepper and bean crops. In the Sahel region, some tomato samples showing severe TYLCVD symptoms were collected from greenhouses in 2004 and 2005. Typing of these isolates revealed for the first time the presence of the TYLCV Israel in Tunisia. This result was confirmed by using several sets of specific primers and by sequencing. This species has also been detected on pepper and bean collected from fields in the same region. The sequencing of a tomato and a bean isolate showed that they both share more than 97% of sequence identity with the TYLCV from Dominican Republic (AF024715). The TYLCV has been found in single and mixed infection with the TYLCSV-[Sic].