PRESENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF TOMATO TORRADO VIRUS IN PANAMA

Abstract

The first report of Tomato torrado virus (ToTV) in Panama was shown in 2009 in the provinces of Los Santos, Herrera, Cocle and Veraguas, in tomato plants that exhibited a previously undescribed symptomatology in this country. Due to the great importance of ToTV as causal agent of a severe disease in tomato, which contrasted with the only study realized for this virus in Panama, the following objectives were included: to assess the presence of ToTV in samples of tomato and weeds, and its geographical distribution in Panama. In 2011, 91 samples of tomato and 25  of  weeds were collected from different localities of the provinces of Los Santos, Herrera, Cocle, and Veraguas. These samples were analyzed by RT-PCR using a pair of specific primers which amplify a 573-bp fragment of the coat protein VP23 of RNA 2 of ToTV. The presence of this virus was determined in 12 tomato samples from the province of Los Santos. These results were confirmed by sequence analysis and its comparison with ToTV sequences from other geographical latitudes. This virus was not detected in weed samples analyzed in this work. This study is the first step of a series that in principle search to understand the epidemiological and molecular aspects of ToTV and using this information to develop strategies for managing of this virus in Panama.