AGROINOCULATION OF TOMATO YELLOW LEAF CURL VIRUS (TYLCV) OVERCOMES THE VIRUS-RESISTANCE OF WILD LYCOPERSICON SPECIES

Accessions of the wild tomato species Lycopersicon chilense LA 1969 and L. hirsutum LA 1777 which are resistant to tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) in field- and in whitefly-mediated transmission tests were agroinoculated with a tandem repeat of the TYLCV genome. Large amounts of viral DNA started to accumulate in the agroinoculated L. chilense and L. hirsutum plants about 10 days after the agroinoculation. Yellowing and narrowing of the upper leaves were observed in the L. chilense plants but no curling as in susceptible L. esculentum cultivars. The agroinoculated L. hirsutum plants showed typical yellowing and curling of young leaves. These findings indicate that TYLCV introduced by means of agroinoculation leads to the breakdown of natural resistance mechanisms which prevent the replication, spread and expression of symptoms in resistant tomato genotypes.