Viruses of pepper crops in the Mediterranean basin: a remarkable stasis

Abstract

Compared to other vegetable crops, the major viral constraints affecting pepper crops in the Mediterranean basin have been remarkably stable for the past 20 years. Among these viruses, the most prevalent ones are the seed-transmitted tobamoviruses; the aphid-transmitted Potato virus Y and Tobacco etch virus of the genus Potyvirus, and Cucumber mosaic virus member of the genus Cucumovirus; and thrips-transmitted tospoviruses. The last major viral emergence concerns the tospovirus Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV), which has undergone major outbreaks since the end of the 1980s and the worldwide dispersal of the thrips vector Frankliniella occidentalis from the western part of the USA. TSWV outbreaks in the Mediterranean area might have been the result of both viral introductions from Northern America and local reemergence of indigenous TSWV isolates. In addition to introductions of new viruses, resistance breakdowns constitute the second case of viral emergences. Notably, the pepper resistance gene Tsw toward TSWV has broken down a few years after its deployment in several Mediterranean countries while there has been an expansion of L³-resistance breaking pepper mild mottle tobamovirus isolates. Beyond the agronomical and economical concerns induced by the breakdowns of virus resistance genes in pepper, they also constitute original models to understand plant-virus interactions and (co)evolution.