Characterization of Tomato bushy stunt virus newly isolated from nipplefruit (Solanum mammosum) in Japan.

Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) was isolated from nipplefruit (Solanum mammosum) in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, with mosaic symptoms, leaf deformation, and stunting. The genomic structure of the TBSV-nipplefruit strain (TBSV-Nf) is identical to that of the TBSV-cherry strain (TBSV-Ch). Transcripts from its full-length cDNA clone without a cap analog at the 5′ terminus infected Nicotiana glutinosa, Nicotiana benthamiana, S. mammosum, Lycopersicon esculentum, Chenopodium amaranticolor, and Chenopodium quinoa, which displayed symptoms identical to those of the parental virus. Although TBSV-Ch systemically infected nipplefruit, systemic symptoms caused by TBSV-Nf were more severe than those by TBSV-Ch. This virus is the first TBSV discovered in Japan and the first TBSV ever isolated from nipplefruit.