Differentiation of Tomato yellow leaf curl virus and Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus using real-time TaqMan PCR.

During the past four decades, Tomato yellow leaf curl disease has become one of the major constraints in tomato production worldwide. In the Mediterranean basin, several isolates from two major Begomovirus species are involved in outbreaks and persistent epidemics. A real-time TaqMan PCR assay was developed and evaluated for the rapid and multiplex detection and differentiation of two begomoviruses often found in mixed infections in the region, Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and Tomato yellow leaf curl Sardinia virus (TYLCSV). This assay was 1000-fold more sensitive than conventional PCR assays described previously, allowing the use of simple template preparation methods and eliminating the need for total nucleic acid purification. The viral DNA template was obtained by spotting sap extract derived from TYLCV or TYLCSV infected tissues on a nylon membrane or by directly using crude plant extracts in the real-time reaction cocktail. Preliminary results showed that this method can successfully detect and discriminate virus species from infected tomato, bean, pepper and different weed species obtained from the Mediterranean basin, the USA and Japan, allowing the simple, fast and cost-effective testing of a large number of samples in certification schemes. The assay can also be used for the detection of these two begomovirus species in their whitefly vector biotypes of the Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) species group.