Novel natural hosts of tomato severe rugose virus (ToSRV) in the Fabaceae, Solanaceae, and Oxalidaceae families

Tomato severe rugose virus (ToSRV) is predominant among the more than 20 tomato-infecting begomoviruses reported in Brazil after the invasion of Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (= biotype B) in the early 1990s. ToSRV is currently detected in association and/or displacing other begomoviruses in major tomato-producing areas. The prevalence of ToSRV across many ecogeographical regions is yet elusive. This peculiar ToSRV feature can be partially explained by its large number of alternative hosts, including those not yet characterized. Here, isolates of ToSRV were characterized in four new natural hosts, including Pachyrhizus erosus (Fabaceae), Solanum betaceum (section Pachyphylla, Solanaceae), S. torvum (section Torva, Solanaceae), and Oxalis latifolia (Oxalidaceae family). These results reinforce the notion that the wide host range of ToSRV may play relevant biological and epidemiological roles in explaining the geographical dispersion and large frequency of this virus in tomato crops in the Neotropics.