Whitefly-Borne Viruses in Continental Europe

Since the first reports from France and the Netherlands in 1980, whitefly-transmitted viruses have increased their impact on greenhouse and open-field crops in continental Europe. Among whitefly virus vector species , three are present in Europe: Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), Parabemisia myricae (Kuwana) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood). A number of clostero-like viruses, transmitted by T. vaporariorum, have been isolated in different European Countries and reported with different names. Viruses isolated in the Netherlands, France, Belgium, England and Italy have been almost immediately classified as beet pseudo-yellows virus (BPYV), but it is now recognized that also cucumber infectious chlorosis virus from Bulgaria, melon yellows virus from Spain, and a muskmelon yellows virus from France are closely related to BPYV. Cucumber chlorotic spot virus from France might be a diferent virus. Tomato infectous chlorosis virus, another clostero-like virus transmitted by T. vaporariurum, and distinct from BPYV, has been recently isolated in Italy. A virus with clostero-like particles 790 nm long, vectored by B. tabaci and related to cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus, has been isolated from melon in Spain. Among geminiviruses, tomato yellow leaf curl virus, vectored by B. tabaci, has been found in Italy, Spain and Cyprus. Tobacco leaf curl virus and abutilon mosaic virus are present in vegetatively propagated material. Two more entities transmitted by whiteflies have been reported from Europe: maple mosic virus from Hungary, transmitted by T. vaporariorum, and, recently, citrus chlorotic dwarf, an infectious disease of citrus transmitted by P. myricae in Turkey.