Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution

Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is a major plant pathogen causing significant economic losses in tomato production worldwide. Understanding its genetic diversity and evolutionary mechanisms is crucial for effective disease management. This study analyzed TSWV isolates from symptomatic tom...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dijana Škorić, Jelena Zindović, Dorotea Grbin, Patrik Pul, Vladan Božović, Paolo Margaria, Nataša Mehle, Anja Pecman, Zala Kogej Zwitter, Denis Kutnjak, Ana Vučurović
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1618327/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849730205975838720
author Dijana Škorić
Jelena Zindović
Dorotea Grbin
Patrik Pul
Vladan Božović
Paolo Margaria
Nataša Mehle
Nataša Mehle
Anja Pecman
Zala Kogej Zwitter
Zala Kogej Zwitter
Denis Kutnjak
Ana Vučurović
author_facet Dijana Škorić
Jelena Zindović
Dorotea Grbin
Patrik Pul
Vladan Božović
Paolo Margaria
Nataša Mehle
Nataša Mehle
Anja Pecman
Zala Kogej Zwitter
Zala Kogej Zwitter
Denis Kutnjak
Ana Vučurović
author_sort Dijana Škorić
collection DOAJ
description Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is a major plant pathogen causing significant economic losses in tomato production worldwide. Understanding its genetic diversity and evolutionary mechanisms is crucial for effective disease management. This study analyzed TSWV isolates from symptomatic tomato plants collected across Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia between 2020 and 2024. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) was employed to obtain whole-genome sequences, followed by phylogenetic analyses to assess genetic variability and relationships among isolates from these three countries and other isolates of worldwide geographic origin. Phylogenetic analyses placed all studied isolates within the L1-M3-S3 genotype, commonly associated with solanaceous crops in Europe. While Croatian and Slovenian isolates exhibited high genetic similarity, Montenegrin isolates clustered in a distinct subgroup, showing closer relationships to Asian and Mediterranean accessions. Despite the severe disease symptoms observed, no substitutions in the NSm protein associated with resistance-breaking (RB) phenotypes were detected. These findings suggest that additional virome components, environmental factors or so far unknown mechanism(s) may contribute to infection and disease severity in tomato and strongly support the need of continuous surveillance of TSWV genetic diversity in order to inform breeding programs and develop sustainable management strategies to mitigate future outbreaks.
format Article
id doaj-art-d8bd13a782d848d190a502fbcdd44b7f
institution DOAJ
issn 1664-302X
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Microbiology
spelling doaj-art-d8bd13a782d848d190a502fbcdd44b7f2025-08-20T03:08:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2025-07-011610.3389/fmicb.2025.16183271618327Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolutionDijana Škorić0Jelena Zindović1Dorotea Grbin2Patrik Pul3Vladan Božović4Paolo Margaria5Nataša Mehle6Nataša Mehle7Anja Pecman8Zala Kogej Zwitter9Zala Kogej Zwitter10Denis Kutnjak11Ana Vučurović12Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Plant Protection, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, MontenegroDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, CroatiaFaculty of Food Technology, Food Safety and Ecology, University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica, MontenegroPlant Virus Department, Leibniz Institute DSMZ GmbH, Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SloveniaSchool of Viticulture and Enology, University of Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica, SloveniaDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SloveniaJožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, SloveniaTomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) is a major plant pathogen causing significant economic losses in tomato production worldwide. Understanding its genetic diversity and evolutionary mechanisms is crucial for effective disease management. This study analyzed TSWV isolates from symptomatic tomato plants collected across Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia between 2020 and 2024. High-throughput sequencing (HTS) was employed to obtain whole-genome sequences, followed by phylogenetic analyses to assess genetic variability and relationships among isolates from these three countries and other isolates of worldwide geographic origin. Phylogenetic analyses placed all studied isolates within the L1-M3-S3 genotype, commonly associated with solanaceous crops in Europe. While Croatian and Slovenian isolates exhibited high genetic similarity, Montenegrin isolates clustered in a distinct subgroup, showing closer relationships to Asian and Mediterranean accessions. Despite the severe disease symptoms observed, no substitutions in the NSm protein associated with resistance-breaking (RB) phenotypes were detected. These findings suggest that additional virome components, environmental factors or so far unknown mechanism(s) may contribute to infection and disease severity in tomato and strongly support the need of continuous surveillance of TSWV genetic diversity in order to inform breeding programs and develop sustainable management strategies to mitigate future outbreaks.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1618327/fulltomatoHTSphylogenyTSWVplant virus
spellingShingle Dijana Škorić
Jelena Zindović
Dorotea Grbin
Patrik Pul
Vladan Božović
Paolo Margaria
Nataša Mehle
Nataša Mehle
Anja Pecman
Zala Kogej Zwitter
Zala Kogej Zwitter
Denis Kutnjak
Ana Vučurović
Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution
Frontiers in Microbiology
tomato
HTS
phylogeny
TSWV
plant virus
title Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution
title_full Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution
title_fullStr Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution
title_full_unstemmed Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution
title_short Tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia: genetic diversity and evolution
title_sort tomato spotted wilt virus in tomato from croatia montenegro and slovenia genetic diversity and evolution
topic tomato
HTS
phylogeny
TSWV
plant virus
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2025.1618327/full
work_keys_str_mv AT dijanaskoric tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT jelenazindovic tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT doroteagrbin tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT patrikpul tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT vladanbozovic tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT paolomargaria tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT natasamehle tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT natasamehle tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT anjapecman tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT zalakogejzwitter tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT zalakogejzwitter tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT deniskutnjak tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution
AT anavucurovic tomatospottedwiltvirusintomatofromcroatiamontenegroandsloveniageneticdiversityandevolution